The two young dancers giggle with nerves as they wait for the music to cue and the rehearsal to start in a studio on Main Street.
At 23, Vlademir Pereira, tall and lanky, is the veteran, reprising his role as the Snow King in the Goh Ballets The Nutcracker for the third time. Sixteen-year-old Janica Grenier, petit and lean in her practice tutu, is making her debut as his queen. As the music swells the two transform themselves from a youthful tangle of arms and legs into regal gatekeepers of a winter wonderland with Pereira holding Grenier high above his head and slowly, purposefully marching her toward centre stage where the two will commence the pas de deux.
In the corner of the studio, Chan Hon Goh Ms. Goh to her students studies the pair intently and with her whole body. Head lilting from side to side, she leads the rehearsal like an orchestra conductor, her arms mirroring Greniers port de bras. Its been more than three years since Goh has been on a stage, but there will always live a dancer in her body.
In her 21 years with the National Ballet of Canada, Goh performed The Nutcracker every single year, taking on the role of the Snow Queen several times. When she gives her corrections, firmly and with direction, they come with an insiders perspective. I want to remind you its OK to be still, she tells Grenier after the run through, challenging her to embrace the maturity of the role. Remember, shes not pretty, shes beautiful. You know the difference, right?
Goh works to wring every ounce of nuance and character out of her young charges, pushing them to pay attention to the details the angle of the head, the straightening of a knee, the softening of a wrist that will elevate their performance.
Its a trait she comes by honestly. The ability to coax extraordinary talent out of developing dancers has earned the Goh Ballet Academy (simply The Goh in most dance circles) an international reputation for excellence its enjoyed ever since Gohs father, Choo Chiat, and mother, Lin Yee, established the school in 1978 upon emigrating from China. What started modestly in a basement on Arbutus and 12th moved to Main and 8th in 1985 when the Gohs bought a former Royal Bank building, converted it to studios and gave rise to generations of the bun-headed ballerinas that are a regular sight in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.
Performers in their own rights, the elder Gohs seemed to hit their strides as arts educators, with Choo Chiat demonstrating a particular talent for teaching artistic interpretation while Lin Yee laid exemplary technical foundations within her students. Given her pedigree, one would think the youngest Goh would have been groomed from a young age to take to the stage, but the future prima ballerina had to fight for her parents encouragement.
There was this idea at first oh shes just in class because we dont have a babysitter, Goh recalls in her office at the school, where she took over as director in 2009. After experiencing the hardship of a life in the arts, both in communist China and then as new immigrants in Canada, Goh says her parents, now retired from teaching, were hoping shed choose a more stable path. Two years into her dance education, Goh made sure they knew that wouldnt be the case.
I burst out crying one day why dont I get any attention in class, I work so hard, Goh recalls with a laugh. She was about 11 years old at the time and the outburst prompted her parents to look at her in a new light, assessing her potential. From there her resumé reads like every dancers dream: Twenty years with the National Ballet, much of it as a principal dancer; countless international performances; prestigious awards; and a published autobiography. With her time on the stage coming to an end as she approached her 40s, Gohs impressive credentials could have won her a position nearly anywhere in the world. But she chose to come home and give back to the community that had nurtured her.
The first order of business acting on the advice of friend and dance impresario, the late David Y.H. Louie was to create a ballet the city could truly call its own and The Nutcracker was a natural fit. Its something that you grow up with. I want to create this experience of presenting our production with live music, of always bringing in these world-class guest artists that can somehow create a great mentorship experience for young dancers here. And also to have an open casting call, so its not only for students of the Goh Ballet its also for the community at large.
With original choreography by B.C.-born choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes and a cast of more than 200 local performers, the Goh Ballets Nutcracker sold out its run in 2009 and still managed to reap 90 per cent at the box office last year, despite a dwindling economy and competition from the Alberta Ballets touring production.
Going from a life lived on stage to one behind the scenes has been a huge learning curve, says Goh, now 42 and mother of a five-year-old son, but one she wouldnt take back for the world.
I love being really hands-on and seeing my visions through. The pairing of that often comes with, have I made the right decision? And what are the repercussions of my decision, because I may not see them instantly, she says.
Unlike the instant gratification of performing a role on stage, or sending a dancer off to a competition knowing shes got the tools to win, taking the reins of the Academy and launching The Nutcracker is a slow and steady effort Goh is willing to ride out over time.
But that hasnt stopped her from dreaming of even bigger and better things for The Goh, and for Vancouver.
Our goal is to produce not only The Nutcracker but other full-length ballets, you know, something that is always on that large and professional scale, which the community can take part in and the community can enjoy. So building something for the richness of the city. Thats a huge goal, but always something that stimulates me. What can I do? What are people looking for? What can I do for the arts in this city. Thats my big goal.
