King Lan Chew Explained

King Lan Chew
Birth Date:November 4, 1901
Birth Place:Berkeley, California, US
Death Date:February 2, 1988
Death Place:California, US
Other Names:Qionglan Chew, Caroline Ruttle
Occupation:dancer
Years Active:1925-1940s
Parents:Ng Poon Chew

King Lan Chew (November 4, 1901 – February 2, 1988), also known as Qionglan Chew or Caroline B. Chew, and later as Caroline Chew Ruttle, was an American dancer. She was billed as "the only Chinese concert dancer in America" in the 1930s, when she toured North America on the chautauqua circuit.

Early life

King Lan Chew was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Presbyterian minister, publisher and lecturer Ng Poon Chew[1] [2] and Chun Fah Chew. Both of her parents were born in China. She was raised in Oakland, California, the youngest of five siblings, and studied piano. She graduated from Oakland High School in 1921,[3] and from Mills College in 1925; she completed a master's degree at Mills the following year.[4] [5] She studied dance with Hanya Holm, Harald Kreutzberg, and Michio Itō, among other teachers.[6]

Career

Chew worked as a social worker at Oakland's International Institute after college. She danced on Broadway in Continental Varieties (1935) with French singer Lucienne Boyer,[7] [8] and in the film adaptation of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth (1937).[9] [10] She toured on the chautauqua circuit in North America in the 1930s and 1940s, billed as "the only Chinese concert dancer in America".[11] Her act involved her interpretations of traditional dances and costumes from China, Java, India, Japan, Turkey, and Burma, and original contemporary dances to works by Gershwin, Scriabin and Debussy.[12]

She created all her own costumes for her performances, with zippers for quick changes.[13] She appeared with the Red Gate Players,[14] directed by puppeteer Pauline Benton; she succeeded Soo Yong and the troupe's "mistress of ceremonies".[15]

Personal life

Caroline Chew married performer, writer and publicist Lee Ruttle in New York in 1938.[16] [17] She was widowed in 1985,[18] and she died in California in 1988, aged 86 years.[19] There are items related to Chew in her sister Mansie (Jingping) Chew's scrapbook, archived at the Bancroft Library.[20]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King Lan Chew: (last orchid) Chinese concert dancer (program). 1938. Traveling Culture - Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century. 2019-11-03. 2019-11-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20191104141938/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/cdm/ref/collection/tc/id/50110. dead.
  2. News: Caroline Chew to Dance Here. April 15, 1934. Oakland Tribune. November 3, 2019. 6. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  3. Web site: 1921 OHS Memorial. Oakland High School. 2019-11-03.
  4. Book: Chen, Yong. Chinese San Francisco, 1850-1943: A Trans-Pacific Community. 2002. Stanford University Press. 9780804745505. 194. en.
  5. News: University Women. May 26, 1933. Mill Valley Record. November 3, 2019. 1. California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  6. News: Chinese Concert Dancer is Coming to E. O. N. Mar. 10. March 4, 1938. La Grande Observer. November 3, 2019. 1. Newspapers.com.
  7. Web site: King Lan Chew. Playbill. en. 2019-11-03.
  8. News: Mixes Knitting, Dancing; Caroline Chew Packs Dance Costumes For New Trip East. December 22, 1935. Oakland Tribune. November 3, 2019. 4. Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Chinese Dancer Goes Hollywood. June 9, 1936. Oakland Tribune. November 3, 2019. 21. Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Chinese Girl to Dance in 'The Good Earth'. August 9, 1936. The Baltimore Sun. November 3, 2019. 45. Newspapers.com.
  11. News: Chinese Dancer to Appear Here. February 24, 1941. The Capital Journal. November 3, 2019. 5. Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Chinese Dancer in Recital. March 2, 1935. The New York Times. 18. ProQuest.
  13. News: Petite Artiste Would Marry Anybody If..... Bouchette. Bob. April 8, 1935. The Vancouver Sun. November 3, 2019. 1-2. Newspapers.com.
  14. News: U. R. to See Dancer; Chinese Troupe Campus Bill. November 29, 1938. Democrat and Chronicle. November 3, 2019. 13. Newspapers.com.
  15. Book: Hayter-Menzies, Grant. Shadow Woman: The Extraordinary Career of Pauline Benton. 2013-10-01. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. 9780773589094. 106–107.
  16. News: Marriage Unites East, West. June 15, 1938. The San Francisco Examiner. November 3, 2019. 1, 10. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: War Story. Starr. Kevin. March 14, 1978. The San Francisco Examiner. November 3, 2019. 16. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: Lee Ruttle. December 5, 1985. The San Francisco Examiner. November 3, 2019. 37. Newspapers.com.
  19. Web site: Chinese American Eyes: Caroline Chew aka King Lan Chew, Dancer. Jay. Alex. 2019-07-05. Chinese American Eyes. 2019-11-03.
  20. Web site: Mansie Chew scrapbook : Oakland, Calif., 1913-1945.. Online Archive of California. 2019-11-03.

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