Eva Cho was born to dance. The 77-year-old dynamo leads a group of retired women from Hong Kong and other parts of China who gather bi-weekly to practise Chinese dance at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. At 12:30 p.m. next Thursday (November 6), these women—who range from 60 to 87—will perform a show called Winter Jasmine — Good Spring at the Carnegie Theatre.
“When I’m teaching and then when they’re dancing and performing, I’m happy,” a smiling Cho tells Pancouver over Zoom. “I want to make the audience happy, too.”
Winter Jasmine — Good Spring is one of more than 100 arts and cultural events in the 22nd annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, which runs from October 31 to November 8.
Cho choreographed all the dance steps for this show. She and the others perform a variety of Chinese folk styles, including fan, umbrella, handkerchief, and chopstick dancing. According to Cho, one member of the troupe will do a sword dance at the Carnegie Theatre. Another will demonstrate wushu, and yet another will perform magic. In addition, Cho is planning her own solo ribbon dance.
“I want to share the different cultures,” Cho says. “Then, they can know Chinese culture.”
Cho links her vitality to dance
The performers come from the Strathcona Tai Chi Group, Stephen Wong Lion Group, DEWC Peer Program, and Chinatown Community Policing Centre. Cho is aware of the health benefits of dance, particularly for seniors.
“I like dancing—it gives me some kind of energy,” she says. “I’m really active here and I can even run and then jump. We have a couple of women in their 80s in this group.”
One recent study involving 1,400 people in several countries suggests that creative experiences, incuding dance, can also enhance brain health.
“Tango dancers showed brains that appeared more than seven years younger than their chronological age,” wrote researchers Carlos Coronel and Agustín Ibáñez in an article on the Pancouver website. “Musicians and visual artists had brains about five to six years younger. Gamers, about four years younger.”
Cho was born in Guangzhou near the end of the Chinese Civil War before she moved with her family to Hong Kong. She recalls singing and dancing all the time as a youngster with her sisters. She also learned about Chinese dances in school.
As a young woman, she immigrated to Canada in 1972. While living in Regina for many years, she taught separate dance classes for children, teenagers, and adults. Then in 2010, Cho settled in Vancouver and resumed teaching Chinese dance at the Carnegie Community Centre and then at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.
“I’ve also performed in many, many places—Granville Island, Yaletown Roundhouse, Oppenheimer Park, Carnegie, and the women’s centre,” Cho notes.
Event details
The 22nd annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival runs from October 31 to November 8. It will present Winter Jasmine — Good Spring at the Carnegie Theatre (401 Main Street) from 12:30 to 1 p.m. on Thursday (November 6). There is no charge for this event. To learn about more than 100 other arts and cultural events at the festival, visit the website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia and Bluesky @pancouver.bsky.social. The publication is also on Instagram @PancouverMedia.
