Mary Chan returned back to her hometown, Kuching and taught in a kindergarten after graduating from Taiwan in 1984.

Kuching Hua Ee Cultural and Music Society pioneer, Mr. Marvin Yong invited Mary to join the Dance Section of the Society as a Dance Supervisor. She was with the society from 1985 until 1995. During her tenure with the Society, Mary was sent to Singapore to upgrade her skills in Chinese Dance.

Subsequently, she went to Taiwan to pursue a course in Chinese Classical Dance. In 1992, she went to the Southern China Music & Dance Troupe and took up professional dancing in China. This was the turning point for her as it was her first real experience being exposed to the training life of a dance professional. She was fortunate to meet China's top dance choreographer, Madam Chen Qiao during her training.

In order to elevate the standard of Chinese Classical & Folk Dance in Kuching & Sarawak, Mary decided to invite two experts from China, Mr. Xu Feng Shi (Beijing) and Mr. Zhang Ji (Gan Shu) to Kuching and Sibu's Hua Ee Society's Dance Section to provide intensive dance training for the young local Chinese dancers.

Thereafter, Mr. Marvin Yong was able to obtain the permission from the Sarawak State Department of Culture and the Ministry of Social Development to include the Chinese Cultural Art Show into their program. From the year 1987 onwards, the Sarawak State Cultural Departments' dinners included the Chinese Cultural and Art Show performances. Since then, the Chinese Cultural Performance has greatly boosted the promotion of Sarawak's rich cultural diversity.

In 1992, Mary led a group of teenage female dancers to tour the state as part of the troop of the "Performance Tour" in most of the divisions of Sarawak. Their brilliant performance received rave reviews from the appreciative audience from different divisions. This has added value to the Chinese Cultural Art Show and created a place for it as part of a type of professional dancing in the state.

In 1995, Mr. Yong and Mary mutually agreed that the privatisation of the dance section can help the state of Sarawak to fully realise the potential of the Performing Arts and Dance. So Mary left the Society to establish The Dance Academy (Kuching) together with her younger sister, January Chan. Kuching Hua Ee Cultural and Music Society was a stepping stone for Mary. She has been indebted to Mr Marvin Yong & the Kuching Hua Ee Cultural and Music Society for they have propelled her dance career .

In 1998, Mary, as the Principal of The Dance Academy, officially signed an agreement to form a direct link with Beijing Dance Academy, to conduct dance lessons and examinations according to the BEIJING Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Examination Syllabus (CDE), in Malaysia. The Dance Academy is the pioneer dance school in Kuching, Sarawak. Currently, Mary Chan is the Official Organizer for the Chinese Dance Graded Examination in Malaysia.

Young Dancer Mary


Principal Mary Chan 2014

Principal Mary Chan 1990's