Still dancing after all these years
China DailyWhen Luka Yuanyuan Yang, a visual artist born in Beijing, received a six-month residency in the United States from the Asian Cultural Council in 2018, she found herself drawn to the story of a group of older women who defied the stereotypes of age, leading her to spend six years tracing their lives in a documentary called Chinatown Cha-Cha. Yang says that her original intention had been to explore the ways Chinese Americans pursued success in the entertainment industry during the 20th century, driven by her fascination with Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood star. "Most Chinese immigrant families at the time thought that being a dancer was not a decent profession, but Yee bravely pursued her dream, demonstrating her taste and talent for fashion," says Yang. Despite lacking experience in producing feature-length films at the time, Yang's admiration for Yee and the other members of the Grant Avenue Follies pushed her to learn, and ultimately to make the documentary.
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Still dancing after all these years
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