Gigi Chao, partner and dad attend Dirty Dancing show … separately
Gigi, her partner, her father and secretary take their seats for Dirty Dancing fun
Gigi Chao and her father may have different opinions about how she lives her life, but that did not deter them from enjoying a night at the theatre under the same roof last night.
Gigi arrived at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with her partner Sean Eav to see the musical Dirty Dancing, shortly before property tycoon Cecil Chao Sze-tsung made his appearance.
"Hong Kong is small. It's easy to be at the same occasion," Gigi said, when asked if this was a step forward in her relationship with her father.
It was an "invitation" by the organiser which brought the two together, Gigi said.
Cecil Chao arrived at the venue with a woman he said was his secretary a few minutes later.
He repeatedly said, "I don't know" when asked how he came to make a rare simultaneous appearance with his daughter and her partner.
The storyline behind the musical in some ways reflects Gigi's own life. The stage adaptation of the 1987 movie hit tells how 17-year-old Frances "Baby" Houseman seeks love with dance instructor Johnny Castle, despite the disapproval of her father.
Gigi has been with her lesbian partner for seven years, but her father still wants her to marry a man and last year even offered HK$500 million to any man who would marry her.
When he was asked if he would arrange a dinner with the gay couple, Chao said: "There is no need."