Beyond the Dance: A Ballerina's Life

by Chan Hon Goh, Cary Fagan

Shortlisted for the Rocky Mountain Book Award

Nominated for The Rocky Mountain Book Award (An Alberta Children's Choice Book Award)

Nominated for the 2003 Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction


An elegant, expressive dancer, Chan Hon Goh is one of the ballet world’s great stars. She is a brilliant technician possessing a delicate beauty and radiant stage presence. Born in Beijing to dancer parents, she tells the story of their flight to Canada from an oppressive regime that thwarted her father’s career, her rigorous training, and her battle to achieve acceptance as the only Chinese-born prima
ballerina in the history of the National Ballet.

This fascinating look at the life of a dancer will appeal not only to the legions of Chan Hon Goh’s admirers and to students of ballet, but also to young readers who understand what it is to pursue a dream.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2002

Reviews

[Kiera LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful story.

I throughly enjoyed reading about Chan Hon Go's journey as a dancer. It was such an enjoyable read.
I really loved all the beautiful pictures included in this book. Chan is such a beautiful and graceful dancer and the pictures really captured that.
I wish it was a bit more real and raw. But I understand this is more for younger readers.
Overall 4.5 stars.

[Colette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond Dance: A Ballerina's Life (150 pages)
by Chan Hon Goh

This is an amazing biography telling the life of Chan Hon Goh and how she went from a childhood dream to a prima ballerina. As I am also passionate about dance, I especially connected with this book and found it interesting to see the life of ballerina in the dancing world. Embedded within her description of her dancing life, readers also see Chan Hon Goh battle with everyday life problems such as stress, pressure and society. The beautiful pictures following her life’s story further enhanced the book! The message of this book, following your dreams and never giving up despite the odds, can be applied within our own lives. It was inspiring to read about Goh’s passion and how she fought hard to fulfill her aspirations. The only thing that I sometimes felt was lacking in the story was the emotion. I feel like the author could have maybe expanded a little more about how she felt, as it would have made a deeper impression on the reader.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chan Hon Goh is a Chinese-born Canadian who learned ballet from her dancer parents, competed in several international competitions, and then moved through the ranks to become prima ballerina at the National Ballet of Canada. The book is picture-book size, with lots of photos. There’s more text than a standard picture book, though. The text is readable, but doesn’t tell you all that much about her, her thoughts, and feelings, especially as she gets older. The discussions of her family’s life before and after the Chinese Cultural Revolution are interesting.

[Michala Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiography tells the story of Chan Hon Goh's life from the time her father moved to Canada through her becoming on of the principle dancers of the National Ballet of Canada and all of her achievements.

This book is a very good one, and especially so for children who need to know that they can achieve their dreams with hard work. Chan Hon Goh succeeded despite everyone, even her parents, not seeing her potential at first. Many students would likely enjoy this autobiography, and I'm sure those with an interest in dance would enjoy it even more.

I would have to find a topic to align it with, but I can definitely see this being a book to study in the classroom. It shows her struggles with herself and the world around her, and she succeeded in spite of everything, something that I think is a good lesson for students.

[Elinor Loredan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into the life of a ballerina. I appreciated learning about one I had never heard of before and reading her references to dancers I am familiar with. The pictures and text are nicely distributed. I only want more! More about Chan's life, her challenges, her triumphs. The only thing that bothered me is her attitude at the beginning of her career. She thought she was entitled to be a soloist right away and was not very excited to be hired as a corps member. Sure, most dancers would prefer to be soloists or principals, but they all must start lower. Also, she felt she could not really "dance" in the corps, but I have seen many corps members express individuality even while blending in with the others. Chan does acknowledge that she was presumptuous, but her outlook seemed arrogant. That being said, I am glad she is honest in her representation of herself.

[Charlotte van Walraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be one of my favourite books ever. I have read it and reread it multiple times, not to mention the countless other times I paged through just to re-read my favourite parts. This is a compelling story, beautifully narrated and full of fascinating detail, perspective, wisdom, and beautifully illustrated with photos of Chan Hon Goh. This is not just another autobiography. It is a full experience, and quite unlike anything I have ever read before or since.

[colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly I don't remember much from this book but I do remember borrowing it from my school's library and reading it at LEAST 4 times so I think it deserves 5 stars

[Tyrannosaurus regina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because this is a book for younger readers I'm trying to be fair to it. Just because I didn't get some of the nitty gritty I was looking for, doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. It is, fundamentally, not for me. That said, it felt very honest and genuine about her ambitions and work ethic and feelings—both positive and negative—about her life and herself and her career. I read it for some insight into what it is genuinely like to live as a professional dancer, and I got that, so I'm satisfied.

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly read it in two days!!! So interesting for those involved in dance but also for anyone who wants to get a sense of the hard work and sense of purpose that goes into pursuing a passion. Inspirational and captivating!!!