Ann’s husband John Chu and Daughter Tina on Commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the passing of Bay Area art promoter Ann Woo:

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09/02/2020

The end of August 2020 marks the third anniversary of the untimely death of well-known art promoter in the Bay Area, Ann Woo. She loved art all her life and spared no effort to promote multicultural and artistic exchanges in the United States and abroad. She provided artists with a stage to showcase their talents and integrated different national cultures into the mainstream. Her efforts throughout her life helped educated people in her communities of the many facets in the arts and at the same time launched many careers of artists internationally.

After her death, a group of artists, long time friends, associates and husband John Chu together established the International Performance Arts of America (IPAA), which has held the International Performing Arts Festival each year since Ann’s death. While remembering Ann Woo, IPAA has provided a stage for exchange between artists of all ethnic groups. Due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the 3rd International Performing Arts Festival must be postponed.

IPAA and DingDing TV jointly organized an online commemorative meeting:

August 29, 2020 from 2:00-3:00pm.

From John Chu:

Ann’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong in 1956. She was 14.

They resided in San Francisco China Town where she soon joined a group of dance enthusiasts and regularly practiced Chinese dancing. There were no professional dance teachers around and learning was done through booklets dedicated to specific dances. They later formed the Chinese Folk Dance Association in 1959 and provided to various events across California with Chinese dances such as “Picking Tea 採茶撲蝶”, “Ribbon Dance 飛天” and “Lotus Dance 荷花舞”, and etc.

After high school she majored in Electronics and Computer Science in UC Berkeley and was the only female among 120 students in that department! After graduation, for 3 decades, Ann worked at Fairchild, Signetics and Advanced Micro Devices. She became a group leader, with 5 engineers under her and had won 9 patents.

For all those years, she never stopped dancing. Every weekend she went back to San Francisco and danced. She became the Executive Director of the Chinese Folk Dance Association in 1980.

She founded the Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA) in 1991. Soon after she quit her job and dedicated her full life to CPAA.

Ann’s multifarious achievements are founded on her empathy, humility, hard work and the conviction that arts are essential to humanity. It is so very sad that she passed away so unexpectedly 3 years ago. A lot of her friends, among them members of this organization, International Performing Arts of America, share her vision and conviction.

Please keep up the good work, thank you.

From Tina Wu Fredericks, Daughter of Ann Woo

I want to thank all the family and friends who worked tirelessly to put this memorial event together. And want to thank all the guests for attending and keeping the memory of Ann Woo and what she represents in our hearts. When I think of my mother I think of how smart she was. She would find the solution to a problem while everyone is still thinking. I can still see her now saying, “Well of course that’s the answer!” and wave her hand at us. Most importantly, I think she will be remembered most for her passion and love for art. I may not know how to speak Chinese but it was my mom who passed on to me a strong sense of pride in my Chinese heritage. I grew up rehearsing and performing Chinese folk dances. As a young girl, I remember waiting backstage for my turn and watching the beautiful dances, being enraptured at the beauty. Ann was a leader in bringing many cultures together in performance art. I imagine what would my mother do today amidst the health, economic, and environmental crisis. I think she would do what she always does, keep working hard, creating something new to bring a community together to help each other. She would do what needs to be done, because that’s the person she was. I’d like to think I’m carrying on her legacy of bringing a community together that cares and loves each other. Nine months ago, I launched my campaign for school board to be a champion for public schools in southern California. And while I’m part of the ethnic minority Chinese in my community, we are all the same deep down as human beings. My mother understood our children are our future and we must truly invest in them. I hope I can carry on her legacy of love and hope.

Tina Wu Fredericks lives in Pasadena with her husband and two daughters, ages ten and thirteen. She is a candidate for Pasadena Unified School Board. Election is on Nov. 3, 2020 www.Tina4pusd.com

Organizing team:
John Chu, Husband to Ann Woo
Andy Jian, President of IPAA
Dennis Nahat, Director of International Performing Arts Festival
Yang Yang, Executive Director of IPAA
Diana Ding, President of Ding Ding TV, Silicon Valley Innovation Channel
Sandy Wang, COO, Ding Ding TV, Silicon Valley Innovation Channel

Commemorating the third anniversary of the passing of Bay Area art promoter Ann Woo: From Ann's husband John Chu and Daughter Tina