A woman known as the Asian Ginger Rogers has died at the age of 102, reports Yehoodi.
Dorothy Toy gained fame as a dancer in the 1930s and 40s, breaking the mode of Asian American woman as demure and unassuming.
She was half the team of Toy and Wing, a dance duo that captivated audiences nationwide from the 30’s until the 60’s. According to Yehoodi, they were the first Asian American dance team to perform on Broadway and also at the famed Palladium in London.
“I’ll always remember my mother setting up her toe shoes on a chair in the wings where she would change from the soft shoe number into the toe number,” said her daughter Dorlie to AsAmNews in 2016. “She always kept her lambswool perfectly placed in her toe shoes and had hooks and eyes on the ribbons so she could just slip into them for the quick change.”
Long time broadcaster Rick Quan produced a documentary on Toy’s life. Quan told AsAmNews Toy “broke stereotypes” and “devoted her life” to dance.
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Toy was also featured in Arthur Dong’s book, Forbidden City, USA.
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RE: Forbidden City star Dorothy Toy dies at 102: Thanks Randall for the post! Inspirational!