Still dancing after all these years

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.