Pointes of View: The all-tutu true story of dancer, actress and designer Flora Cheong-Leen

As a ballerina, actress, choreographer, TV director and fashion designer, Flora Cheong-Leen has been a trendsetter all her life. We sat down with her in the plush showroom of the COLOURLIVING concept store to talk about her lifelong passion for dance, her brief tryst with acting, her controversial fashion designing career, and above all, her eternal zest for life.

You were just nine when you signed up to London’s Royal Ballet School. What made you so sure that dance would be such a huge part of your life when you were so young?

It was really all down to my sister. She had already enrolled to study under Jean Wong, the illustrious Hong Kong-born ballet dancer who taught at the city’s Royal Academy of Dance. After being under her tutelage for a little while in Hong Kong, she suggested I audition in London. So, when I was just eight or nine years old, I found myself – along with thousands of other kids – trying out for a place at London’s Royal Ballet School. Fortunately, I was first Chinese kid to get accepted and I’ve never looked back. Initially, I was a little homesick and found the training regime to be quite demanding. As my skills improved, however, my love of ballet continued to blossom.

What ultimately led you back to Hong Kong?

Well, I had just been accepted as a professional dancer at the Royal Ballet Company in London when my mum fell ill. So I immediately gave all that up to come back to Hong Kong to be with her. Sadly, six months later, she passed away and I couldn’t bring myself to go back to London. I decided to join the Hong Kong Ballet instead. While it was a smaller company than the one I had been a member of in London, it allowed me to stay close to my family and that was my true priority.

Your return to Hong Kong also marked your transformation into a movie star…

That came about completely by accident. When I first came back to Hong Kong, I picked up some part-time modelling work. It was during one such assignment that someone singled me out and asked if I’d be interested in starring in an upcoming movie. At the time, they were looking for a replacement for Josephine Siao – then one of Hong Kong’s biggest stars – who was pregnant. Of course, I signed up for that. Then the offers started flooding in. Before I knew it, I had committed to 10 different movies.

You eventually gave all that up though…

Well, while I felt I could really express myself emotionally through dance, I didn’t find that same freedom in the movies. The parts I was being offered just didn’t have that kind of depth – all I had to do was look pretty, and that didn’t really resonate with me. I was also not that enamoured with all the add-ons – the promotions, the ribbon-cuttings and the whole PR process.

You also found time to become a fashion designer…

Ever since I can remember, I have loved experimenting with fabrics. As a kid, I would cut the lace trims off my dresses to create new outfits. Let’s just say that my mother wasn’t always impressed. When I was older, I took over my sister’s fashion design business and looked to expand it. It wasn’t long before I launched my first collection – Pavlova. With its name a nod to Anna Pavlova, the legendary Russian ballerina, it had an unabashedly romantic-countryside feel to it.

As the business expanded, it no longer made financial sense to manufacture in Hong Kong, so we outsourced it to the mainland. It was around this time that I also fell under the spell of Chinese culture and art, eventually going on to study for a diploma in art history in Beijing. I felt more connected to my Chinese roots than ever before, something that started to manifest itself in my choice of fabrics and my designs. My collections became quite popular and I went on to open 200 stores under the Tian Art label.

Some of your designs, however, seemed to almost woo controversy…

Yes – after I had an image of the Madonna holding the Baby Jesus in one of my jeans collections, I was accused of trying to promote Christianity in China. That wasn’t the case at all, though, and it was actually more about my take on motherhood. Then I used Chairman Mao badges and motifs as part of another range and that landed me in even more trouble. For my part, though, it was never my intention to be wilfully controversial; I was just looking to be creative.

How would you describe your design ethos?

I have a very multicultural background. My family has ties to South America, China, Australia and Indonesia. As a result, I am inspired by the local cultures of all these places – many of my designs, for instance, feature traditionally Indonesian batik prints. I have also designed a number of contemporary-looking cheongsams to celebrate my Chinese heritage. I am, essentially, pluralistic by nature.

What are the challenges of spending your life in the limelight?

I don’t like my personal life being written about. People would see me with someone at some event or another and then something scurrilous and unfounded would appear in the news the next day. It’s the kind of thing that has made me determined not to remain public property. Life is not about the next party or the next gala; there is so much more to it. I would rather be spending my life doing things that allow me to make a real difference.

Thank you.

Interview: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay
Photos: Jack Law
Video: Kingsley Lau
Art Direction: San Wong
Make-up and Hair: Irene Hung
Jewellery:Cartier
Venue: COLOURLIVING

Eyres and Graces: Alia Eyres CEO of the Mother’s Choice charity

Alia Eyres may be a mother of five, but it’s her role as the CEO of renowned local charity Mother’s Choice that sees her embrace the larger community as her family…

Having looked on as your parents masterminded Mother’s Choice, were you always destined for a career in charity?

Being around my parents and their friends – the co-founders of Mother’s Choice – definitely had a huge impact on me and my younger siblings. Growing up, I saw my parents and their friends pouring their hearts and souls into this charity, committed to helping children and young women who didn’t have any support system, while doing their level best to give back to a city they had come to call home. It showed me the true worth of generosity, the value of kindness and the importance of family.

You were a corporate lawyer before you joined Mother’s Choice – why the switch?

Well, I had been practicing corporate law for quite some time, but, alongside that, I had been volunteering at Mother’s Choice since I was nine years old. Despite that, I’d never contemplated working there full-time. Around the time that they started looking for a new chief executive, though, I remember sitting in a coffee shop near my then-office and I opened the newspaper and saw the ad for the role. It was as if a light bulb went off in my head. I suddenly realised that this was what I wanted to do with my life.

How has your experience as a lawyer helped you in your role as chief executive?

Having a background in justice and knowing how the law works have been incredibly helpful. Two of my other siblings are also lawyers in Hong Kong and experts in family law. We firmly believe that understanding the law and how the legal system works really help to make sense of how our society works overall. Many of the young women and children we work with have very real legal concerns and need someone to be their voice when it comes to seeking justice. My background means I can be that voice.

What are the key areas where Mother’s Choice can help out?

Mother’s Choice is a local charity and we work very closely with the wider community, partnering with hundreds of volunteers every week to change lives and bring hope. We do that by providing services for babies and children, and for young women who have no familial support. We also work with young people who are experiencing crisis pregnancies or youth in foster care, and operate foster programmes via local schools and community education services.

Since becoming chief executive in 2012, what has made you most proud?
After being in my post for seven years now, I can say I’m proudest of Project Bridge – an innovative programme designed to improve the traditional foster care system. Essentially, it connects nurturing volunteer families to children in need of temporary care. Our volunteer Bridge Families provide these children with a safe and loving family environment, giving them the opportunity to build trust, to develop their sense of identity, despite any crises that may have disrupted their birth homes.

And what have been the most challenging aspects of the role?

It’s fair to say it’s not an easy job. Every day we hear the most heart-wrenching stories – a newborn baby abandoned in a trash can, a 14-year-old girl who has been abused and raped or a family that has been torn apart. These are incredibly difficult stories to get your head around, but the good thing is I now know there’s hope for everyone. Each one of us gets a second chance. There’s no such thing as a hopeless case. There’s hope that everyone can have a good future, there’s hope for every baby, every girl and every family. I say that because we’ve seen true miracles happen. Even though it is a hard job, I have to tell you I have become a far more hopeful person than I was in the past.

How do you ensure that the children have a seamless transition when they’re adopted?

Our preparatory work focusses on the two key parties – the adoptive families and the children who they are taking on board. In the case of the families, we hold their hands every step of the way, making sure they are fully aware of the needs of the child, the legal side of things and so on. We have hundreds of volunteers, social workers and lawyers all working together so that they are well prepared for their forever homes. We also have nurses, doctors and therapists, who come in to check that their medical needs are being met so that they have a better chance of finding a new home.

How open is modern-day Hong Kong to adoption?

In the 32 years since we started, I’ve seen Hong Kong really open up to the idea of adoption and we’re so grateful for that. In the future, we would like to see people being more willing to open their homes and their hearts to children with special needs and older kids. Every child, no matter their age or condition, deserves to be part of a loving family.

Thank you.

Interview by: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay
Photos: Jack Law
Art Direction: San Wong
Make-up and Hair: Irene Hung
Venue: Mother’s Choice

For the full article, please find the latest issue of Gafencu’s print magazine or the PDF version on the Gafencu app. Download the app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

Continuum Capital founder Marie-Louise Jungels on demystifying the world of finance

Marie-Louise Jungels, the Luxembourg-born founder of Continuum Capital, talks to us about the city’s banking potential, starting her own financial firm and her upcoming book.

Tell us a little bit about your early years…

I was born in Luxembourg, a tiny country in Western Europe. I have one sister and, by and large, my childhood was pretty normal. I grew up in a very rural, cosy environment – one that would be seen as rather provincial nowadays. Growing up, I primarily spoke Luxembourgish and German, my mother’s native tongue. I also studied French and English. It may seem like a lot, but many of my countrymen are quadrilingual, as we’re right at the crossroads of so many major cultures.

And then how did your education pan out?

I completed my primary and secondary schooling in Luxembourg, but I had to go abroad to attend university, the reason being that, back then, Luxembourg had such a small population – about 375,000 people – that it didn’t really have any high-level tertiary education institutions to speak of. Ultimately, I ended up collecting several finance and economics-related diplomas from universities in France, Belgium and the US.

Was finance always your one calling?

Honestly, growing up, I would never have guessed I’d end up as a banker. I was far more interested in the arts, so much so that I seriously thought about becoming an artist at one stage. But my father who advised me that something a little more financially lucrative might be wiser in the long run. After toying with the idea of becoming a scientist or a doctor, I finally settled on economics and finance, because they seemed to offer the broadest opportunities.

What brought you to Hong Kong?

After completing my studies, I was somewhat at crossroads in terms of what to do next. The obvious thing would have been to return to Luxembourg to work. The not-so-obvious choice, though, was to explore the wider world. I had never been to Hong Kong – or even to Asia – before and I wanted to see what could be achieved here. So I enrolled in a PhD programme in Economics at HKU, but ultimately decided to forego getting another degree in favour of gaining some real-life experience, preferably somewhere I could put all my theoretical knowledge into practice.

Having come to that decision, was it hard to find work?

It was a bit of a struggle to land my first job, largely because I was an economist interested in corporate strategy at the time, whereas Hong Kong finance companies were far more focused on immediate results rather than long-term planning. Eventually, I stumbled into private banking and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. What kept me in that sector was that I found a niche for myself – I loved managing client portfolios and met many amazing people while I was in that role. Gradually, I started to become more involved in bond portfolio management.

What led you to launch Continuum Capital, your own business?

It was down to a mix of several different factors. Firstly, I’d been working as a bond portfolio management specialist for many years and, while I enjoyed the challenges of working in a bank, I felt that it was somewhat restricting in terms of what I wanted to achieve for my clients.

In 2012, after the Global Financial Crisis, I was working for Merrill Lynch. Given the traumatic upheaval the company was going through, I thought it might be a good time to branch out on my own. Ultimately, though, it was my clients – many of whom I’d built strong relationships with over the years – who gave me the confidence to start Continuum Capital.

Tell us a little more about your business and about what makes it special…

Basically, it’s an independent asset management firm. We specialise in managing clients’ bond portfolios, working closely with them to meet their individual requirements and specifications. The company’s aim is to help preserve their wealth while building exponential financial gains over time.

In terms of your future plans is there anything that is particularly exciting you at the moment?

Actually, I’m currently writing a book, one that looks to explode the myth that finance has to be complicated – an impression that many in the industry seem keen to maintain. I’m writing it in a way will be accessible to everyone and will enable them to gain a solid working understanding of how the different aspects the industry all inter-relate. Sadly, the world of banking is not very transparent at the moment, something that I hope my book will help change.

Finally, what advice would you give any other female entrepreneurs looking to start her own business?

Well, it takes a lot of courage to start your own company, but – having said that – I would encourage everyone to give it a try. Irrespective of your field, keep a firm grip on your finances. Above all, you must be tenacious. While there will be hurdles and unexpected setback, much the same can be said of everything else in life. Above all, always keep a calm head and ensure you are well-prepared for every eventuality – no matter how positive or how negative.

Thank you.

Interview by: Tenzing Thondup
Photos: Jack Law
Art Direction & Styling: San Wong
Venue: Andante Lifestyle Store
Video: Kingsley Lau

Andy Wong

Andy Wong is a director of both Mandarin Fur and the Hong Kong Fur Federation.