I remember the first stage rehearsal that I watched Johnny Kim running, and thought who is this guy???. His in-depth knowledge of each persons role and choreography was matched by his beautiful articulation over the microphone. If one of the 90 performers needed to know which direction their little finger should be pointing in one exact moment - Johnny was the person to tell them! He was incredible to watch, and I watched and learned from him for two years at House of Dancing Water in Macau.

Although we remained friends when he left Macau, our professional paths crossed once again when we both found ourselves working as Artistic Directors with Cirque Du Soleil. Johnny had been working for Cirque for two years before I joined, and I was so happy when I was placed with him for my induction period to the company. We spent a glorious couple of months in London, and again I got to learn by watching him do his thing.

Johnny’s work ethic is inspirational, and hearing about his journey into performance and entertainment, it is easy to see that he developed his discipline of hard work through pushing to make a life that he wanted to live, rather than a life that was expected of him.