Chan Hon Goh, C.M (, born 1969) is a ballerina based in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Goh was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

with

The National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

before going on to become a published author, director, teacher, executive producer, and entrepreneur.

Career

''Stage career''

Goh began her career with

in 1988. She progressed from second soloist in 1990, to first soloist in 1992. And in 1994, Goh became the first ever

Principal Dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

of Chinese heritage in the company's history. On May 31, 2009, Chan Hon Goh danced her farewell performance at the

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, with the National Ballet of Canada.

Career off-stage

In 1996, with her husband Chun Che (also a former Principal Dancer with The

National Ballet of China The National Ballet of China (NBC), known in China as the Central Ballet Troupe, is the national ballet company of the People's Republic of China. It was founded on 31 December 1959. The ballet company works from the Tianqiao Theater, which was s ...

), Goh launched her own shoe brand "Principal by Chan Hon Goh." The company manufactures

pointe shoes A pointe shoe (, ), also referred to as a ''ballet shoe'', is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolv ...

and dance slippers. Goh is also a published author. In 2002, her autobiography co-written with

Cary Fagan Cary Fagan (born 1957) is a Canadian writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. His novel, ''The Student,'' was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Literary Award. Previously a short-story collection, ''My ...

entitled ''Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina's Life'' was released by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

. The book was a finalist for the

Norma Fleck Award The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction is a lucrative literary award founded in May 1999 by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children's Book Centre, and presented to the year's best non-fiction book for a youth audien ...

for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction and The Rocky Mountain Book Awards. In 2010, Goh became the director of the Goh Ballet Academy. In 2019, she opened a second studio location in Toronto, Goh Ballet Bayview. She is also on the board of directors for the

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society () is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The Saskatchewan Medical Association formed Canada's first cancer committee in 1929, whi ...

Awards and honors

Goh has earned rewards, including the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

, the

YWCA Women of Distinction Award The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

, the New Pioneers Arts Award, and the Best Teacher Award at the World Ballet Competition. In 2019, Goh was appointed as a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

for her skill in ballet as a principal dancer, artistic director, and cultural ambassador. Goh was recognized as the recipient of an honorary degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

for her contributions to society.

References

External links