VIP and Friends on Commemorating Bay Area art promoter Ann Woo
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.
VIPs & Friends:
Kansen Chu, California State Assembly
Evan Low, California State Assembly
Orrin Mahoney, Former Mayor of Cupertino, Rotary District Governor
Gilbert Wong, Governing Board of Trustee at Foothill-De Anza Community College District, Former Mayor of Cupertino
Patrick Kwok, Former Mayor of Cupertino
Mythili Kumar, dancer, teacher, and choreographer
Paul Fong, Former California State Assembly
Hung Wei, Governing Board Member, Fremont Union High School District
Fariba Nejat, President of Iranian Federated Women’s Club
Phil Zhihua Young, Composer
Xingjiu Liu, dancer, teacher
| Kansen Chu, California State Assembly | Evan Low, California State Assembly | Orrin Mahoney, Former Mayor of Cupertino, Rotary District Governor |
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| Gilbert Wong, Governing Board of Trustee at Foothill-De Anza Community College District, Former Mayor ofCupertino | Paul Fong, Former California State Assembly | Patrick Kwok, Former Mayor of Cupertino, Advisor of IPAA |
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| Hung Wei, Governing Board Member, Fremont Union High School District | Mythili Kumar, dancer, teacher, and choreographer | Phil Zhihua Young, Composer |
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| Fariba Nejat, President of Iranian Federated Women’s Club | Xingjiu Liu, dancer, teacher | |
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My name is Phil Young and my Chinese name is 杨智华, I am a composer. I met Ann in the late 1980’s and started writing music for her soon after. I became music director for the Chinese Performing Artists of America right after she founded it in 1991. During those 20 some years working with her as a resident composer, I composed and produced music for quite a few productions for the CPAA, including the “Dragon 2000”, “Legend of Dragon King”, “Symphonic Chinese Ballet” and one of Ann’s most ambitious projects, the full length ballet “Middle Kingdom Ancient China”, a groundbreaking collaboration with the San Jose Ballet, which also brought me the opportunity to work with the ballet’s artistic director and choreographer Dennis Nahat.
During those days I was working with Ann, one thing struck me most was herselfless dedication to what she believed in and what she was trying to achieve. She believed in multiculturalism and she believed that art can unite people from different cultural backgrounds. She was striking to create a performing art form that can combine dance, music and visual art together and showcase multicultural richness on the stage for the audience, and she had achieved it beautifully.
She had a keen sense of innovations too, I always heard her say: we are right in the center of the Silicon Valley, we should take the advantage of the multimedia hi-tech environment, So she always encouraged me to utilize my computer music technology for our music productions, which I did, I actually did most of my music productions for the CPAA with my computer and music software. Another good example is her brilliant idea of creating a glowing dragon on the stage for a dragon dance called “Celestial Dragon”, dancers were asked to dressed in black dancing in the darkness under blacklight, so the dragon would come to life rolling and shining on the stage, with my computer-generated thundering druming track, the outcome is stunning and it became the signature show of the CPAA for years to come.
Ann’s passing is a tremendous loss for the community, but her legacy will live on and she will be remembered by all of us. I personally treasure the good memories working with her. I will never forget the moment while we were visiting her in the hospital when she was in a coma, we were not allowed to enter the room she was in, but before I left I shouted at the ICU door toward her : “We love you Ann!”……., I hope she heard my words.
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