Years ago, I was freshman in college and was studying dance in Miami. I went home to spend the summer with family in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I went back to my high school, Tsoying High School and met Shari there. She was teaching and choreographing for the students. I was so fortunate to take her classes everyday for the month in Taiwan. I learned and loved her class so much that I wrote her a letter when I got back to the U.S. I was so inspired by her. She gave amazing classes and she was patience, energetic, and loving. We lost contact for years. I can’t believe when I saw her again at Arlington Center For Dance which is now BalletNova Center for Dance a few summers ago. It turns out Nancie, Artistic Director of BalletNova, was used to dance with Shari and her husband David in Dulles Ballet. Nancie brought both of them to the school as guest teachers for the Summer Intensive Ballet Workshop. I was so thrilled to see them!! Nancie brought them here again this year. This past Friday (July 11, 2014) was their last day in DC. Carmen who is the faculty of BalletNova was also danced together with Shari and David and invited all of us to her home for dinner. It was such a special evening! We had too much fun chatting away… family, kids, house, food, and of course, most of time we talked about Dance! We all enjoyed so much catching up. Thank you for the delicious dinner and sharing your warm and charming home with us, Carmen!!
Happy Birthday, Michelle!
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!!
She is Engaged!!!
Lucky Us!!
We were so fortunate to have a master class with Houston Ballet Principal Dancer Connor Walsh at BalletNova Center for Dance !! Thank you for such an awesome class! Such a treat!! #toomuchfun
Spending My Day Off with TMP
My sweet husband, Gary, who is also the Executive Director of Gin Dance Company, surprised me with Wolf Trap tickets (master class at 10:30 this morning & performance this evening) to see Trey McIntyre Project (TMP) … I’ve always enjoyed and inspired so much by Trey’s works and this is the last season of TMP. So glad I got to see them one last time. Weather not cooperating (it’s pouring and crazy thunders) … But we had covered seats and were having a good time. The thunders totally made a big impact and effect to the first piece “The Vinegar Works: Four Dances of Moral Instruction”. It was so perfect!! The 2nd act of the performance was the piece called “Half-Life” is a celebration of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who died of AIDS at 45. Love the music and dance. So vivid and electric!! Bravo, TMP! Thank you for making my day so special and memorable, Gary! Love you so much!! Here is the great review from The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/trey-mcintyre-project-bids-farewell-with-final-local-dance-performance/2014/06/12/9d9efa08-f234-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html?tid=hpModule_5fb4f58a-8a7a-11e2-98d9-3012c1cd8d1e
What an Event! Taiwan Night 2014 Concert
May 24, 2014, Saturday, we arrived at the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center at 4 pm and were anxious to get on the stage to start our tech rehearsal. We hung the Chinese lantern, set up the benches and other got the other props into position. We worked with technicians to get the projector video set while the dancers were in the dressing room getting into costumes and warming up. We got things rolling quickly! We proceeded to set all the lighting cues and complete the sound checks. Then moved straight into a dress rehearsal. By 6 pm we had finished tech and the dress rehearsal and were ready! Other performers were starting to arrive and began taking turns to get on stage for their rehearsals & sound checks. We headed back to the dressing room where there were sushi dinner boxes waiting for us. What a treat!
At 6:30 pm the House opened… and it’s a Full House!! Soon, it was curtain time (7 pm)! We were the opening act for the evening. Before the curtain opened, the Chairman/President of Taiwan Culture Center of Greater Washington (TCC), Tai L Huang made his opening remarks. He thanked the event sponsors and gave a warm welcome to all the guests. Then the curtain opened and it was show time!! GDC performed ‘The Teller’, it was well received by an enthusiastic audience. Following ‘The Teller’ (Act I), there was a 15 minute intermission. Before the 2nd Act started, TCC presented the Taiwanese American Community Scholarship Awards (TACSA) to 11 award recipients (note, these awards are open to high school Seniors from all ethnic groups). Big congrats to all the winners!! Then the curtain opened for Act II. The 2nd Act was filled with incredibly talented musicians including world renowned leading violist Hsin-Yun Huang, violinist Shu-Ting Yao, Soprano solo Lucy Lu-Hsuan Chen, pianist Yi-Fang Huang, and The Greater Washington Taiwanese American Chorus. It was an exquisite musical performance, one after the other.
After the show, we joined many of the performers for a post performance snack at Clyde’s Tower Oaks Lodge (Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae for me!). We celebrated the success of this special evening and shared our life long journey of pursuing our dreams as artists. We talked about our busy lives, we even talked about some of our funny performance experiences. We chatted the remainder of the evening away! Well after midnight, the party finally came to an end. What a memorable evening! Gary and I truly cherished this moment and are so grateful for Tai, Huai-En, and everyone at TCC for brining us together. Big congrats to TCC and all the performers for this spectacular performance and a great success! Bravo!!

































































