{"id":1588834,"date":"2020-03-08T00:23:43","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T05:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/?p=1588834"},"modified":"2020-04-09T14:30:14","modified_gmt":"2020-04-09T18:30:14","slug":"womeninspiringwomen-former-principal-dancer-national-ballet-of-canada-chan-hon-goh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divine.ca\/en\/womeninspiringwomen-former-principal-dancer-national-ballet-of-canada-chan-hon-goh\/","title":{"rendered":"#WomenInspiringWomen: Former Principal Dancer, National Ballet of Canada, Chan Hon Goh"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is difficult to select someone as our #WomenInspiringWomen<\/a> subject on International Women\u2019s Day. In many ways, Chan Hon Goh is every woman.\u00a0 The daughter of immigrant parents makes her much like many other Canadians.\u00a0 She is a mother, again very similar to many women.\u00a0 What sets her apart is the fact that she is someone who reached the pinnacle of every dancer\u2019s career.\u00a0 She is the former Principal Dancer of the National Ballet of Canada.\u00a0 She is an artist, mentor and advocate for the arts.\u00a0 Finally, she is the Artistic Director of Global Dance Challenge and Director of Goh Ballet Academy.<\/p>\n

As we finish the first quarter of 2020, Chan Hon Goh<\/a> has been traveling more than ever before.\u00a0 The day of the interview, she literally just got back from TANZOLYMP in Berlin.\u00a0 TANZOLYMP are like dance Olympics with 40 countries represented and over 1,000 dancers participating.\u00a0 Goh took 5 Canadian students there between the ages of 14-17, who were competing in ballet and contemporary dance. They came back with 3 gold medals, one silver and one bronze for Canada. Goh was ecstatic that Canadians are being noticed internationally.\u00a0 In addition, she was teaching a Master Class Series presented by the Royal Bank of Canada across the country.\u00a0 She was kind enough to make time for us to discuss what it is like to go from professional dancer to judge and mentor, who inspires her and why the arts are so important.<\/p>\n

As the former Principal Dancer for the National Ballet of Canada, you have performed hundreds of times. Which performances stand out to you the most and why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Anytime a dancer makes a debut in a leading role it\u2019s quite a milestone.\u00a0 My debut in \u201cThe Nutcracker\u201d was made at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.\u00a0 I was still very young [19 years old] and given the lead role.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say that it was my best performance, but it was definitely one to remember \u2013 just to go out there and do a principal part.\u00a0 Throughout my career, there were various ballets that were either created on me or brought in new to the company for me.<\/p>\n

There were special partners that I would be paired with.\u00a0 I remember \u201cThe Sleeping Beauty\u201d, which was always one of my favourites, I was paired with this amazing dancer, Vladamir Malakhov and that was very special.\u00a0 When I did my first \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d I was paired with Rex Harrington who was such an experienced partner and I was doing it for the first time.\u00a0 To learn from him and to have the security of a partner that was so experienced and sharing the stage with him was very special.\u00a0 One very memorable occasion, when I was dancing abroad, I was invited to dance in Denmark in \u201cSwan Lake\u201d with Erhan Colburg who was making his debut in the dance.\u00a0 To our surprise, the Queen of Denmark was there to watch.\u00a0 I think of those occasions and they were definitely the stand outs.<\/p>\n

\"Chan<\/p>\n

You have mentioned that early on, your career was about conquering and getting those milestones.\u00a0 How do you measure those milestones now that you are a mentor versus the Principal dancer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I identified myself as a dancer.\u00a0 My life evolved in many ways with what I was doing onstage and those were the milestones that I was working towards.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m not on stage anymore, and mentoring students and producing shows is very different.\u00a0 There is a lot of work behind the scenes that is goes unnoticed that adds to the quality of a show and is part of the immense preparation of a dancer or student dancer.<\/p>\n

My milestones now are the rewards that I see in the students.\u00a0 If I am able to assist them and help them make something possible.\u00a0 \u00a0This may be giving them opportunities, to do a new piece of choreography that they weren\u2019t able to access before which could push them onto a new level or teach them a new step with more artistic output or nuance.\u00a0 Those are the breaking points that will make them better and their accomplishments are what I look forward to.<\/p>\n

\"Chan
Photo: David Cooper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why is mentoring other dancers both through the Goh Ballet Academy and through the Masterclass series so important to you?\u00a0 How do you define yourself as a mentor?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This art form \u2013 dance \u2013 is passed down from generation to generation.\u00a0 You can learn from film clips or text books or by reading someone\u2019s biography but this art form has to be passed on in studio.\u00a0 The relationship I build with my students is very important.\u00a0 The quality of these productions that we are able to bring to life is important. \u00a0You can\u2019t get the essence of dance any other way than through mentoring and I am so happy that I have so many experiences that I am able to pass on.\u00a0 There are different ways to overcome challenges and instill the confidence that can be learned and built by dancers.\u00a0 Now, in my way, I try to pass that on to my students.<\/p>\n

You have been judged as a dancer as a student and then as a professional.\u00a0 How did your own experience change how you judge others both in the dance world as a jury member of international dance competitions and in everyday life?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I love this question.\u00a0 Coming from an immigrant family, being the first Principal Dancer of Chinese heritage in Canada\u2019s largest professional dance company how do I judge dancers and people in everyday life?\u00a0 I approach it with a lot of openness.\u00a0 There are certain criteria in dance that one has \u00a0to abide by, but they don\u2019t have to be restricted in how they get there.\u00a0 It\u2019s like what the famous choreographer Balanchine says, \u201cWe should never be afraid to break the rules, but we should never break the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the bigger picture, in what I do professionally as a jury member, coming across young dancers, you may come to a variation that is meant to come from a certain time, a certain look and a certain style.\u00a0 Those are the laws that you cannot break, but how you interpret them is what I am open to and that is the individual quality that I look for.\u00a0 I am also trying to bring that out in my students.\u00a0 They should never be copycats of what I or any other dancers used to do.\u00a0 I want to bring some individuality out.<\/p>\n

The understanding of the piece comes into play like when you read a book and understand a character.\u00a0 In musical interpretation, it\u2019s the same, but you think of where you put your accent.\u00a0 Some people have this skill naturally, and some need more direction.\u00a0 As a teacher, it is my job to pull it out of them.\u00a0 For me, once I listened to the music and studied the characters, it became my own.\u00a0 With some people, you have to dig a little deeper and try to give them imagery or metaphors to bring it out of them.<\/p>\n

As women, we are often told that to be successful, you have to hold back your emotions.\u00a0 Dance is all about emoting with your face and body.\u00a0 What lessons about emotional intelligence can we all learn from dance?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The sense of vulnerability and being human.\u00a0 That human quality has so much to do with emotional intelligence.\u00a0 Potentially, and I am generalizing, as women, we have to make an additional effort to come across as being strong and to stand our ground.\u00a0 To admit that we are human and vulnerable in some ways is important.\u00a0 To give ourselves forgiveness, because we are human and we can make mistakes and we can learn from them.\u00a0 It is how we grow.\u00a0 That is what we need to remind ourselves of.<\/p>\n

I am pretty hard on myself.\u00a0 I hate mistakes and I don\u2019t like to have overlooked anything.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like to leave anything incomplete.\u00a0 As a mother and someone who is more mature now, it\u2019s not my first time having to make a difficult decision.\u00a0 We have to be more compassionate and that will be read by the people that you work with.\u00a0 If we are hard on ourselves, inevitably, we are going to be hard on others, and that little bit of compassion will go a long way.<\/p>\n

You said that when you retired that you went from taking direction to making decisions.\u00a0 What advice do you have for other dancers or women in general making a big life transition?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s tough.\u00a0 One of the things that I say to people when I have to make a decision is that I need to think about it.\u00a0 Sometimes we are put on the spot.\u00a0 The best that we can do for ourselves is to take more time mull decisions over; to sleep on it and know what you are getting into.\u00a0 When you have made up your mind, don\u2019t be on the fence.\u00a0 I feel like that once we have made that decision, and we know it is for the best, go into it whole-heartedly.\u00a0 Don\u2019t doubt yourself and don\u2019t have regrets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You have been an inspiration and mentor to many young women.\u00a0 Who inspires you now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I am inspired by people who are not pigeon-holed into one way of doing things.\u00a0 I love people like Oprah who have overcome adversity, have had to face challenges and prove themselves in each and every way.\u00a0 People like her that have gained success and have broken through the glass ceiling.\u00a0 Those inspirational women who are from different walks of life including dance.\u00a0 When I was growing up, it was all about the women that I saw on stage, but as I grew more mature, it was about the thought process behind it.<\/p>\n

What is the biggest challenge to arts and culture in Canada?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Exposure is a big problem.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have enough outlets to show our work.\u00a0 Our society, in general, hasn\u2019t made arts and culture a part of our everyday lives.\u00a0 It\u2019s an add on when possible or if it interests us.\u00a0 I would like it to be part of our everyday, that we see it around us, that we can access it and that we care more about it.<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t been brought up with it being a priority.\u00a0 We have to think about getting arts and culture introduced into schools so that at an earlier age we can be exposed to it.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it all about marketing and what\u2019s in our face?\u00a0 Arts and culture isn\u2019t in our face enough.\u00a0 As someone who believes in it, and has advocated for it, I try to see how we can convince the powers that be to program it more and be aware of the standard.\u00a0 Let\u2019s not miscommunicate these art forms.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often being sacrificed and yet, what are we without arts and culture?\u00a0 Everybody speaks to working toward a better standard of living.\u00a0 We care a lot about health and education, and we should.\u00a0 When we are well educated, and healthy, the arts feeds our soul.\u00a0 We are quite empty without that kind of spiritual guidance.<\/p>\n

As a mother who has a very busy and fulfilling career, what advice do you have for other mothers out there?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The best piece of advice that one of my good friends gave me was quality time is very important and to never apologize for being a mother.\u00a0 We can apply it however we want.\u00a0 For example, don\u2019t say that \u201cI\u2019m sorry I have to go, because my kid is sick.\u201d I\u2019m sure as professionals we will make up the time and rearrange our schedule to make up for the time lost.\u00a0 Being a mother is such a blessing.\u00a0 I am very busy and that quality time is very important.\u00a0 Those are the times when we create those amazing memories.\u00a0 Be present and not distracted, even though it is easier said than done.\u00a0 Don\u2019t feel guilty, because we only get to live once, and we want to be happy mothers.\u00a0 If being a happy mother means that you are a career woman as well, then don\u2019t feel guilty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is difficult to select someone as our #WomenInspiringWomen subject on International Women\u2019s Day. In many ways, Chan Hon Goh is every woman.\u00a0 The daughter of immigrant parents makes her…<\/div>\n
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