Founder and Managing Director of The Playhouse

CEO of FRAMEWORKS

As a mum of 2 under 6, Alexandra knows parents concerns with wanting to raise competent, bilingual and future-ready individuals.

The genesis of The Playhouse stems from her work with FRAMEWORKS, where she has witnessed the growing challenges schools have with supporting the next generation of competent, confident and innovative individuals.

A graduate of University College London (UCL) where she read Art History, then obtained an M.F.A from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Alexandra is keen to bring the enigmatic world of Arts and Culture to children earlier in their developmental journey. With the aim to use the Arts to teach children how to communicate effectively and think laterally about the world around them, supporting the next generation to sustain a sense of curiosity throughout their lives, so they can be ready for what ever the future holds.

Alexandra is a bilingual speaker (English and Cantonese) she is also a certified Transformational Coach and a Parenting Facilitator from the UK based Parent Practice.

Operations and Project Manager

Joanne Cheung, born and raised in Hong Kong, is a versatile professional with a keen eye for art and business. With a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from Glasgow School of Art and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Marketing Management from Edinburgh Napier University, Joanne combines creativity and strategic thinking in her work.

Her career spans roles in curation, marketing, and business development, including positions at RCS Artelier, M Group, Tarte Cosmetics, and Perspective Magazine. Joanne has also contributed her skills as a producer for photography and video production, collaborating with Luke Casey on creative projects for various brands.

Joanne’s expertise includes project leadership, process optimization, art direction, and project management. She is particularly interested in the intersection of art and advertising, a passion that began in 2014 with her artworks inspired by Hong Kong culture and Chinese aesthetics. Her work continues to explore and bring the potential of art into daily life.

Tinker Art Tots, Art Social, StoryPlay, DesignPlay Lead Educator

Skylar has many accolades in the Design space, she majored in Fashion and Accessory Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, graduated on the Dean’s list and spent time studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC. She has won many international design awards, such as:

🌟 Drawing Psychology Analyst from IAPC

🌟 Winner of Prestigious DFA Design for Asia Award Silver 2023

🌟 Resident Jewelry Designer at Prestigious Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group

With her expertise in art & design thinking, The Playhouse has invited her to take on the full time role of designing and running many of our kiddo arts courses. Skylar will focus on teaching our young students how to utilise different tools to structure their thinking in order to communicate better and connect to the world around them more confidently.

She has spent the last 5 year designing and executing art classes with various HK kindergartens and aims to create a curious and safe space for children to unleash their creativity, to explore and be confident with experimenting their ideas.

ConstructionPlay Lead Coach and Mentor

Nick Tsao, founder of Tsaoao Design, is an architectural graduate from Cambridge University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a practicing architect in Hong Kong with a passion for traditional paper crafts. He currently lives in the historic Wanchai Bluehouse, where he shares his passion for traditional crafts.

Tsaoao Design 創辦人曹晉愷畢業於香港中文大學建築學碩士及劍橋大學建築系學士課程。曹晉愷在香港從事建築設計工作並喜愛研究傳統紙藝創作。現居於灣仔藍屋，並以此為剪紙工作室，研究傳統紙藝創作。

PaperPlay I & II Coach and Mentor

Pauline is a Hong Kong based artist who has specialised in working with paper for many years, making sculptural pieces of nature based artworks inspired by Hong Kong’s rich and abundant Flora and Fauna.

Working with paper is such a versatile material and to push the boundaries of what can be created from a single sheet of paper is such a wonderful creative challenge.

For many years Pauline has worked in the commercial arts and design area, collaborating and commissioned by some of Hong Kong’s renowned brands, including Pacific Place, Cartier, Dior, PMQ, Hermes, Lane Crawford, Cathay Pacific to name a few.

Tinker Art Tots (Mandarin)

Ms Bonnie has a magical energy when she runs her classes, her 8 years of experience in the field of early childhood education, led her to work with various homes for private mandarin playgroups as well as for many years with Mulberry House.

Has been awarded a certificate in Putonghua Grade 1B

Currently studying for a degree in Early Childhood Education at The Hong Kong University

Ziggy is a mother to three young children, and an experienced Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor with a demonstrated history of working in the health & wellness, and fitness industry in the UK and Hong Kong.

Prior to her first pregnancy in 2016, her main focus was on body composition, strength and conditioning and fat loss. After the birth of her first child, Ziggy’s passion turned towards true women’s wellness and pre-post-natal fitness. She is known for her fun parent and baby bonding classes in the form of babywearing workouts.

“My goal in prenatal training is to prepare women for labour, childbirth and the postpartum period. Labour and childbirth are a physical, emotional, spiritual and mental event - through education and physical simulation, I help prepare mothers' minds and bodies for this event regardless of if it is a vaginal or abdominal (c-section) birth.

I don’t believe in “bouncing back” after you give birth. Sustainable, long term habits, and 

cultivating self love and compassion are the most important to me when supporting mothers.”

After working with a plethora of clients, Ziggy is most passionate about helping mothers in the postnatal period, particularly those with abdominal separation or pelvic floor conditions.

Website: www.zigfitmama.com

Youtube: www.youtube.com/zigfitmama

Instagram: www.instagram.com/zig.fitmama (@zig.fitmama)

Qualifications:
Pre Post Natal Certified Coach (Girls Gone Strong)
Certified Pre Postnatal Exercise (NASM)

200hr Hatha Yoga Teacher (Anahata Yoga)

200hr Integral Yoga Teacher (Hersha Yoga) 

One of Hong Kong’s most experienced and versatile arts professionals, Prof Gillian Choa has taken charge as Director of Hong Kong’s leading performing arts academy, The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts since Jan 2021.

A passionate educator, she became the first woman, and the first Hongkonger, to head The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts (HKAPA)when she stepped up to the role of the organisation’s Director in 2021.

Gillian joined the Academy full time as a member of its Theatre Design Department in 1996 and was appointed Dean of the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts from 2013 to 2019, and Deputy Director and Provost from 2019 before her appointment as Director. Under her leadership, the Academy has been ranked 1st in Asia for six consecutive years at the QS Ranking – performing arts category.

Gillian has also worked in numerous different roles within the arts. She began her career in Hong Kong as the first Resident Designer of the Chung Ying Theatre Company, then worked in a wide variety of roles across Hong Kong’s performance and entertainment industry, including as a set, costume and lighting designer for theatre, film and television. She has designed displays for luxury brands including Tiffany and Hermès, presented a classical music TV programme, and edited architectural and fashion magazines.

She has been serving the community actively and is on many boards and committees of organisations and advisory groups that include Create HK, the Advisory Committee on Arts Education, and the Human Resources Planning Commission, HKSAR Outstanding Students’ Union, HKJC Music and Dance Fund, HK Society for the Deaf, Spastic Association of HK, Federation of New Territories Youth, HK Youth & Tertiary Students Association, VTC’s Design Discipline Advisrory Board, Hok Yau Club, Woo Foo Leaders Network, Zonta Club of Hong Kong, and so forth.

PhD (La Trobe University in Australia)

DipChSt (CGST)

B.A., PGDE, M.A. (Ed) (CUHK)

Parker is the founder of Cobli, the most advanced vehicle telematics and mobility platform in Latin America. Launched in 2017, the company has already raised more than $20mm from investors such as Fifth Wall Ventures and Valor Capital Group. Cobli won the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition in 2016, becoming the first Latin American startup to receive the award. In 2019, Cobli was elected by LinkedIn as one of the top ten startups in Brazil. Previously, Parker founded First Help Financial, the tenth largest independent vehicle finance company in the U.S., funding over $600mm of historical originations. Parker studied mathematics at Duke University, has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is a member of Forbes Technology Council.

Professor Kevin W. H. Tai is Assistant Professor of Language and Literacy Education and Co-Director of the Centre for Advancement in Inclusive and Special Education (CAISE) at the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU).

In relation to his editorial positions, Kevin Tai is Editor of The Language Learning Journal (Routledge), Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Routledge) and Executive Guest Editor of Learning and Instruction (Elsevier).

Kevin Tai's research interests include Conversation Analysis for Second Language Acquisition, translanguaging in education, classroom discourse and qualitative research methods.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Dominica, HK born and bred, is a keen supporter of the arts, education, and philanthropic causes in Hong Kong and in the United Kingdom for many years. She currently works on projects focusing on art, culture, education, disabilities and dementia, helping to network bringing together fruitful collaborations and ventures.

Dominica was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hong Kong Arts Centre since 2018. She also sits on the Culture Commission set up by the Government of the Hong Kong SAR.

From Charities, NGOs to Education bodies, she has helped with branding, outreach, networking, and fundraising projects.

After her secondary and tertiary education in the United Kingdom, she went onto to pursue art and did a Diploma in Photography at the London School of Photography. In 1987, she returned to Hong Kong and worked in the rag trade, before running her own interior decorating business for 10 years. Her passion for cooking resulted in her publication of 4 cookbooks, all to benefit charitable causes – Children’s Thalassaemia Foundation, Facing the World (UK), Room to Read ( HK and UK), Hong Kong Red Cross & Fu Hong Society (for the Disabled). She is the co-founder of the Dementia support group ‘Brain Health Initiative’ in Hong Kong.

Dominica went to St Leonard’s Mayfield School and the School of Slavonic and East European Studies which is now part of University College London.

Daniel Tan has over 10 years experience in agile project management, strategic planning and business development with Fortune 500 companies such as Adidas, Lululemon and DFS.

Daniel has a BMgt from University of British Columbia.