Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Dance Company | Photo by Worldwide Dancer Project

Graduated from the Dance Faculty of Minzu University of China, Yang Yuntao is an accomplished dancer and choreographer. He joined Hong Kong Dance Company (HKDance) as Principal Dancer in 2002 and became Assistant Artistic Director in 2007. He has been Artistic Director since November 2013.

Yang has choreographed for numerous dance companies. His award-winning choreographic works for HKDance include: Spring Ritual·Eulogy, winner of Outstanding Achievement in Production at the 15th Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2013 and presented in Beijing and Taipei in 2013; The Legend of Mulan, winner of Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the 16th Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2014 and presented in New York, Sydney, London and Minsk in 2015, 2017 and 2019 respectively; Storm Clouds, winner of three awards including Outstanding Achievement in Production at the 17th Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2015; The Butterfly Lovers, presented in Seoul in 2016; L’Amour Immortel, winner of three awards at the 18th Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2016, presented in Beijing and Guangzhou in 2017, Taipei in 2018, Shanghai and Hangzhou in 2019; Waiting Heart, winner of Outstanding Medium Venue Production at the 21st Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2019; and Convergence, winner of Outstanding Online Production at the 23rd Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2022. Whispers of the Pines, a highly acclaimed excerpt from Convergence, also won the 13th China Dance Lotus Awards (Contemporary Dance) in 2023, China’s most prestigious national dance awards.

Other works for HKDance include Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Voices and Dances of the Distant Land, Blanc in Reveries of the Red Chamber, Chinese Hero: A Lone Exile, In the Beginning in Vipassana, Lady White of West Lake, Dance of Strings, Shan Shui: An Ode to Nature and Nezha: Untold Solitude. Yang has also spearheaded a three-year interdisciplinary Research Study on Chinese Martial Arts and Chinese Dance, and has continued with this endeavour since 2018.

Yang has won Hong Kong Dance Awards in 2003 and 2006 for his outstanding dance performance, and the Best Artist (Dance) at the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards 2009. In 2023, Yang has been awarded the Medal of Honour by the Chief Executive of the Government of HKSAR in recognition of his contributions to the dance sector, years of devotion in creating and promoting Chinese dance and nurturing dance talents.