Chan Hon Goh is a principal dancer of The National Ballet of Canada and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet (Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.). She joined the Corps de Ballet of The National Ballet of Canada in 1988 and rapidly progressed to Second Soloist in 1990, First Soloist in 1992 and Principal Dancer in 1994. She frequently appears as a guest artist with dance companies worldwide, produces full programs of dance and also teaches master classes.
Chan has established the Chan Hon Goh Scholarship Fund to nurture and support talented dancers. She involves herself with the community by supporting a range of Toronto-based not-for-profit organizations and for the past 10 years, has been an Honorary Advisor to the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto.
Arriving in Vancouver from Beijing in 1977, Chan Hon Goh had to learn English and adjust to a completely new culture. Her parents, who set up a ballet academy in Vancouver, did not want Chan to follow in their footsteps and become a dancer. Consequently, she trained as a concert pianist for 11 years.
Chan, however, saw herself as a ballerina and danced by herself to any music she could find. It was Sir Anton Dolin, a legendary British dancer/choreographer, who pointed out Chan’s potential as a ballet dancer. But even then, life was not easy for Chan and she had to prove herself again and again to succeed in a western art form. At age 15, she insisted on entering the Prix de Lausanne, the most important competition in the world for young dancers, where she won the Prix de Lausanne prize.
Chan has co-authored her autobiography ‘Beyond the Dance’ that has been nominated for several book awards. She and her husband own and operate a dance supply company ‘Principal by Chan Hon Goh™’ - the only Canadian company to manufacture products for dancers designed by dancers.
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