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How ballet helped the Goh family find their footing in Canada: an oral history of the Goh Ballet

Almost 40 years ago, a young Chinese ballet dancer moved to Vancouver with his family and created one of the most prestigious ballet schools in Canada. Choo Chiat Goh gives us an oral history of the Goh Ballet Academy.
Choo Chiat Goh (second from the right, in the forefront) dancing in a class at the Beijing Dance Academy during his graduating year in 1960. (Courtesy of the Goh family)

Almost 40 years ago, a young Chinese ballet dancer named Choo Chiat Goh moved to Vancouver with his family. He was a principal dancer with the National Ballet of China and — even though he didn't know English — he knew that he wanted to teach dance. Many doubted he could do it, but from small classes of three to four kids, he created the now acclaimed Goh Ballet Academy, one of the most prestigious ballet schools in Canada. Today, you'll hear a q oral history of the school from both Choo Chiat Goh and his daughter, Chan Hon Goh, and how a family's love for ballet fostered the school's success.

Choo Chiat Goh at the Great Wall of China in 1975, the year before he immigrated to Canada. (Courtesy of the Goh family)
Chan Hon Goh teaching at the Goh Ballet Academy in 2014 (Courtesy of the Goh family)
Goh Ballet Performance in 2003. (Courtesy of the Goh family)

Produced by Elaine Chau