King Lan 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.

King Lan Chew
King Lan Chew, from a 1936 newspaper.
BornNovember 4, 1901
Berkeley, California
DiedFebruary 2, 1988
California
NationalityAmerican
Other namesQionglan Chew, Caroline Ruttle
Occupationdancer
Years active1925-1940s
Parent(s)Ng Poon Chew

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.[1][11][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 87 years.[19] There are items related to Chew in her sister Mansie (Jingping) Chew's scrapbook, archived at the Bancroft Library.[20]

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