dance ambassadors
S.J. TROUPE GETS A BOOST WITH ARTISTS FROM CHINA
By Anita Amirrezvani
Mercury News

Seven Chinese dancers have left relatives and secure jobs behind to spend a year teaching and performing in San Jose.

Given the outlandish economics of life in Silicon Valley, all seven -- five men and two women -- are sharing a single three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.

And three more dancers are about to move in.

Full schedule ahead for non-profit's dance group
Chinese Performing Artists of America was founded in 1991. Some of the non-profit group's earliest efforts focused on providing dance classes for kids.

Savoring Chinese dance
SHOW WILL HIGHLIGHT WORK OF SOUTH BAY CULTURAL GROUP
By Rita Felciano
Special to the Mercury News

When Ann Woo arrived in the Bay Area from Hong Kong at age 14, she didn't speak any English. Junior high school was tough, making friends even tougher.

``I looked at the text books, and I couldn't read them,'' she recalled. ``But I could understand the math books; that's something I knew.''

For recreation and to make friends, she joined the Chinese Folk Dance Association in San Francisco and later directed the group for almost 10 years. In 1991 -- despite being an electrical engineer with nine patents to her name -- Woo, with choreographer Yong Yao and composer Phil Young, co-founded Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA) in San Jose.