Dance artist Cheryl Pan received extensive professional training in Chinese classic and folk dances for many years in China. She specializes in teaching different Chinese ethnic dances, some of which are not easily seen in the United States. She has taught Chinese dance to hundreds of children and adults from different backgrounds.
She hosted the Chinese New Year Celebration at the Lexington Opera House in January. This was the seventh year that she has choreographed, directed and hosted this large cultural celebration as the artistic director of the Kentucky Chinese American Association (KYCAA). Her artistic expertise has contributed greatly to the success of the celebration that has become a sold-out event year after year.
In addition, she also directs the dance performance for the Moon Festival celebration in the fall. Her leadership and dedication has attracted nearly 2,000 people each year to the Chinese New Year and Moon Festival celebrations.
She has dedicated many weekends and evenings to teach people of all ages many different cultural dances at her own studio.
As the first Chinese dance artist to be accepted into the Kentucky Arts Council’s Performing Arts Directory and Teaching Artists Directory, she has been invited to perform at events and festivals in Lexington, Georgetown, Louisville, Owensboro and Richmond. Pan has also been scheduled for many radio and television appearances to share her expertise. She was honored as Person of the Month by Kentucky Monthly magazine and called the Woman of 1,000 Dances by Southsider magazine.
As a teaching artist, Pan contributed to Kentucky Educational Television’s Arts Education Toolkits, and has conducted artist-in-residence projects for numerous schools.
Cheryl Pan
Lexington, Ky.
Email: cherylpan@hotmail.com