I was a professional ballet dancer with Ballet West, Zurich Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, and Kaohsiung City Ballet. I know this world well: its culture, career paths, artistry, and athleticism, across both classical ballet and contemporary dance. Most of how I think about dance traces back to Igal Perry, through his choreography and mentorship at Peridance. Some highlights from my career:
Performed nearly every role in The Nutcracker.
Interestingly, at Ballet West, I was once the Nutcracker, and Nathan Chen was my Fritz, Clara’s naughty brother.
Got to dance some other great parts: James in La Sylphide, Melancholic in Balanchine's The Four Temperaments, Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty, Lead Gypsy in Don Q, Renfield in Ben Stevenson's Dracula, and Igal Perry's Ave Maria.
Won the Capezio Award at the 2010 USA International Ballet Competition (Jackson), under the name Guixien Chu.
Several future principals competed that year: Kimin Kim (Mariinsky); Marcelino Sambé and Fumi Kaneko (Royal Ballet); Cao Shuci (National Ballet of China); Esteban Hernández (San Francisco Ballet); and Ji Young Chae, Seo Hye Han, and Derek Dunn (Boston Ballet).
Was eliminated in the first round at the 2010 Varna International Ballet Competition.
My friend Avetik Karapetyan, on the other hand, did great!
Roommate was Brooklyn Mack.
Completed high school at Taipei National University of the Arts
Many of my friends went on to dance at Cloud Gate Theatre of Taiwan.
Quarterfinalist at the 2004 Prix de Lausanne (inclined/raked stage, ouch!).
Alex Wong won the competition that year.
If you or your children are interested in ballet, I’d be happy to share my experience.