2002 Young Master

Christopher Vo is, in many respects, your typical college freshman in New York City. He begins the day with a 9 a.m. class and meets with his instructor by noon. But at 18, the teen-ager is boldly transcending the traditions of his Vietnamese culture to study what he loves most and in his case that is DANCE.

“In Asian cultures, most families would like you to pursue a career that will make money, like medicine,” said Vo, raised in Dallas . “Dancing isn’t viewed as a valid profession.”

Vo earned a full scholarship to The Julliard School, the renowned training ground for actors, dancers and singers. Inside its walls, he studies modern dance, a form that “is neither as precise nor as rigid as ballet,” he said. It’s a description that seems quite suitable for a young man who has resisted being cast in any mold.

Vo’s parents left Vietnam in the 1980s, and when they divorced, he turned to dance to tap into his emotions, he has said. But that didn’t necessarily send his mother’s heart dancing. She wanted him to be a doctor.

“I had to work hard to prove that dancing was important to me — an outlet — so that she would support it,” he said.
As it turns out, support has arrived in waves throughout his nine years of effort. Vo was awarded the Texas Young Masters Program in 2002, which allowed him to spend two summers worth of studies at the American Dance Festival and Juilliard’s Dance Intensive program. Prior to receiving his scholarship, Vo had never been outside of the Dallas metroplex. Consequently, White House officials recently bestowed upon him a Presidential Scholar in the Arts award. Vo has said, “ Thanks to the Young Masters scholarship, I was given the opportunities of a lifetime!”

Vo is doing very well in college and progressed wonderfully in his chosen profession.

“It’s really clear that he is a very gifted dancer,” said Larry Rhodes, dance director at Julliard. “He is unusually talented physically and personally connects to an audience through his fluid movement.”

This “connection” is what keeps Vo attached to dance. “I like that it’s challenging,” he said. “It’s a great way to express what I feel.” While he said he isn’t aware of any professional Vietnamese dancers, he doesn’t seem the least bit daunted about entering unknown territory.

“Ultimately,” he said, “I would like to become an instructor and pass on these skills to others like me.”

Favorite Quote:
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body"
--Martha Graham (1894-1994)
US dancer, choreographer

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