Zhongjing Fang

In 2000, Lausanne opened so many doors in my life. As a young ballet dancer, I didn’t know much about the international ballet world, but Lausanne gave me a platform to be able to experience my biggest dreams on a worldwide stage. It was a life-changing experience. Lausanne set the bar so high since the beginning of my dance career. This experience took me to the highest level with the world-renowned American Ballet Theatre. I have so many fond memories of Lausanne, however my journey with this competition was no walk in the park. Before arriving to Switzerland, I had an appendicitis infection and almost couldn’t attend the competition yet, I persevered and found my inner strength within to win the competition.  Lausanne allowed me to face my own challenges and allowed me to open my eyes and understand the importance of following my heart and destiny.

Fang was born in Shanghai, China and began her ballet studies at the Shanghai Ballet School where she trained for seven years. She then attended the Performing Arts College of Shanghai Drama University and graduated with a major in ballet.

In 2000, Fang was the grand prize winner of the world’s most prestigious dance competition, the Prix de Lausanne.  She went on to receive the Rudolph Nureyev Foundation Prize at the Ninth International Ballet Competition in Paris the following year. Fang also won First Prize in the Junior Division of the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, as well as First Prize in the Junior Division of the Shanghai International Ballet Competition.

Fang was invited to join American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company by John Meehan in 2002 and entered the main company in 2004 as a member of the Corps de Ballet. She has performed in every full-length ballet in the company’s repertoire, and has danced in ballets by Mikhail Fokine, George Balanchine, Anthony Tudor, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, Paul Taylor, and John Neumeier. Fang has worked with and/or created roles for Natalia Makarova, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Jiri Kylian, Lar Lubovitch, James Kudelka, Christopher Wheeldon, Marcelo Gomes, and Alexei Ratmansky.

Outside of ABT, Fang has appeared as a guest artist with Joshua Beamish and Gemma Bond.  She has also participated in workshops with performance artist Marina Abramovic. Fang has not been able to achieve her many successes without challenges. In 2009, while rehearsing as an Odalisques in the classical ballet Le Corsaire, Fang suffered from a partial tear of the posterior tibial tendon. Since this tear was in the avascular zone therapists have been quoted saying that Fang is truly a “Miracle Girl” for being able to dance again. After a long recovery and hard work with ABT’s Corps de Ballet, her strength and tenacity allowed her to make history as a Soloist.

In 2011, Fang started her choreography journey and created her first ballet The Final Frame for American Ballet Theatre’s “Innovation Initiative”, and ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School level 7 class. The following year, she created Song Before Spring, co-choreographed with Steven Melendez, which was commissioned by New York Theatre Ballet. Her work Le Femme has also been seen at the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process series. In 2017, she continued to work with New York Theatre Ballet and created Painted Within. In 2018 she was chosen to be one of the female choreographers of the Counter Point project in Brooklyn and collaborated with visual artist Audra Wolowiec to create Surround.  She also was invited to the Columbia University to create a ballet for their dance major students. In April of 2019 Fang joined the 92^nd Street Y for their Dig Dance Project as an upcoming choreographer. She continued with her creative mind, and recently joined the ABT Incubator Project hosted by David Hallberg and created her latest ballet An Observation of the Dress Code.

“Prix de Lausanne was a turning point for me as a ballerina and artist, it was the stage that changed my life journey forever. I want to give back and pursue true talents the way Lausanne did for me 20 years ago”.