Xiyue Ge

葛希玥

Scholar·Performer·Photographer

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Practice-led researcher
bridging East and West

Xiyue Ge (Xi) is a PhD researcher at Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London, specialising in musical theatre pedagogy, curriculum design, and performer career sustainability. Her research sits at the intersection of practice and scholarship, informed by her own experience as a singer, performer, and creator across three countries.

With a multicultural background spanning China, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Xi brings a distinctive cross-cultural perspective to the question of how higher education can cultivate creative practitioners — not merely skilled performers, but storytellers and authors of new work rooted in local cultural narratives. This inquiry is especially urgent within China's rapidly expanding musical theatre industry, where institutional investment has outpaced the development of culturally grounded original content.

Her research draws on comparative case studies of programmes in the UK and US, practitioner interviews, and practice-led autoethnographic reflection. She has presented internationally at leading conferences in London, New York, and San Diego, and contributes actively to new work development that bridges Chinese cultural storytelling and contemporary musical theatre practice.

Research

Cross-cultural musical theatre pedagogy & career sustainability

Performance

Singing, musical theatre, new musical creation

Photography

Fine art & street photography across three continents

Xiyue Ge

Xuzhou, China, 2024

Musical Theatre
in a Global Context

Xi's doctoral research examines how musical theatre curricula can move beyond technical training to cultivate creative practitioners — storytellers, collaborators, and authors of new work — in a landscape shaped by digital media, cultural policy, and cross-border artistic exchange. The study employs comparative case analysis, ethnographic interviews, and practice-led methodologies.

01

Musical Theatre Pedagogy

Comparative curriculum analysis across UK, US, and Chinese higher education, examining practice-led methodologies and the cultivation of creative authorship within institutional training. Xi is a member of the Musical Theatre Educators' Alliance (MTEA), the UK Musical Theatre Network (MTN), Musical Theatre Matters for Diversity (MMD), and the China Musical Theatre Association.

02

New Musical Creation & Cross-cultural Narratives

How educational environments can support the development of original musicals grounded in Chinese cultural narratives — fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and culturally situated storytelling capable of reaching a global audience.

03

Performer Career Sustainability

The structural and pedagogical conditions that enable resilient, long-term careers for musical theatre practitioners in an industry reshaped by digital platforms, talent media, and shifting cultural policy — with a focus on China's rapidly evolving sector.

04

Creative Industry Diversity & Entrepreneurship

How higher education can foster diverse career pathways within the creative industries, equipping emerging practitioners with entrepreneurial skills, cross-sector adaptability, and the agency to build sustainable, self-directed professional lives.

Conference Presentations

Publication

Instruction of Swing Pedagogy and its Potential Application in China's Higher Education Context

China Musical · UK Musical Theatre Network

Singer,
Actor &
Creator

A mezzo-soprano with a background in classical and jazz vocal performance, Xi is also an active songwriter and musical theatre writer. She has developed original songs and worked on new musicals, bringing a composer-performer perspective to her creative practice. She has performed across China, the UK, and the United States — work that directly informs her scholarly inquiry into performer career sustainability and the cultivation of new musical voices.

Xiyue Ge in studio recording
Xiyue Ge performing live
Xiyue Ge on stage in red
Stage performance

Seeing the
Ordinary Anew

Photography is, for Xi, another mode of attentive looking — a practice that runs alongside her research and performance work. She has pursued formal photographic study through continuing education at the University of the Arts London (UAL), developing a visual language attuned to the solitary figure in monumental space, the precision of the natural world under close observation, and the layered textures of cities she has called home. Her work spans street photography in London, botanical studies, and coastal landscapes.

Figure in classical London architecture
St Paul's Cathedral steps, London
Orchid study I
Westminster, London
Orchid study II
London Eye through foliage
Coastal dusk landscape
Westminster crowd, London
Orchid study III

Let's
connect

Xi welcomes enquiries from fellow researchers, educators, practitioners, and collaborators working at the intersection of musical theatre, pedagogy, and cross-cultural practice.

Affiliation Kingston School of Art, Kingston University London
Research Musical Theatre Pedagogy · Cross-cultural Curriculum · Career Sustainability
Based London, United Kingdom