Chinatown Cha-Cha
by Chinese director Luka Yuanyuan Yang that brings veteran dancers from mid-century San Francisco’s Chinese nightclub scene to screen. [Photo provided to China Daily]
When Luka Yuanyuan Yang, a visual artist born in Beijing, received a six-month residency in the United States from the Asian Cultural Council in 2018, she found herself drawn to the story of a group of older women who defied the stereotypes of age, leading her to spend six years tracing their lives in a documentary called Chinatown Cha-Cha.
Since its debut in cinemas last month, the 85-minute film has received widespread praise, exemplified by its rating of 8.4 out of 10 on the popular review aggregator Douban.
Yang says that her original intention had been to explore the ways Chinese Americans pursued success in the entertainment industry during the 20th century, driven by her fascination with Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American Hollywood star.
Feeling that there might be more women like Wong, whose talent may have gone unnoticed for historical reasons, Yang began researching the subject, and uncovered a wealth of archive materials, documentaries and books on the topic.
Two discoveries that intrigued her the most were Arthur Dong’s documentary Forbidden City, U.S.A. and Trina Robbins’ oral history Forbidden City: The Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs.
Both revisited the heyday of nightclubs in San Francisco’s Chinatown over half a century ago.
Yang’s research led her to the Grant Avenue Follies, a troupe of dancers mentioned at the end of Robbins’ book.