Late Singaporean ballet trailblazer honoured at US festival

Late Singaporean ballet choreographer Goh Choo San was honoured at a dazzling recital in the United States on Friday (Jun 21). 

During the one-night-only tribute with a special focus on Goh, dancers performed his piece “Momentum” at the Kennedy Center in US capital Washington DC – the first on a major US stage.

The tribute was among a series that was part of a week-long festival called 10,000 Dreams: A Celebration of Asian Choreography, an event founded by arts advocate Phil Chan.

Goh grew up in Singapore, but took his talents across the world in the 1970s. 

In the US, he served as resident choreographer for the Washington Ballet for nearly a decade. He is credited with being the first Asian choreographer to gain international recognition.

He contributed works to the American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera, Royal Danish Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Boston Ballet, among many other companies around the world.

Goh received the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest arts accolade, in 1986. The award honours local arts practitioners whose artistic excellence, contribution and commitment have enriched and distinguished Singapore’s arts and culture scene, according to the National Arts Council. 

A year later in 1987, he died from viral colitis at the young age of 39. 

Chan believes Goh “should be recognised as a great American choreographer and a trailblazer for our community”, according to the festival website.

INSPIRATION FOR DANCERS

Principal dancer of Singapore Ballet Kwok Min Yi said Goh is an inspiration for many dancers, even today.

“His style, his ballets, that's the backbone of our company. Every dancer who has walked through (our) doors will have learned his ballets,” she told CNA.

“I've been watching his ballets since I was young … So it's very important for me because he was the trailblazer for us.”

Artistic Director of Singapore Ballet Janek Schergen said Goh was his best friend, and that he would have been delighted to see what his legacy has helped create.

"I'm very pleased that (the tribute) is happening because he was the person who broke the race barrier. Nobody can change that. He was the first Asian choreographer in classical ballet,” he said. 

The establishment of Singapore Ballet was inspired by Goh’s career, and his ballets are a treasure, Schergen said previously. 

ASIAN REPRESENTATION 

The festival aims to provide a platform for Asians and Asian-Americans who represent cultures from countries like Singapore, Japan and the Philippines.

“I thought it was really beautiful to see a variety of different ethnicities on stage, and to hear from Asians themselves, Asian choreographers themselves, how exciting it is to them to feel represented. I thought it was great,” said one audience member.

Such representation is the goal for Chan, who has been trying to improve Asian representation in US ballet. Asians make up around 7 per cent of the country’s population.

“There's a limitless amount of creativity among Asian-American choreographers,” he told CNA.

“My longer-term dream is that we're not just seen as the token Asian who is brought in among a larger group to show that we are diverse. But instead, we're seen as artists that belong there because of our talent and not because we have to check some box.”