Local adoptee choreographs ballet to make all families feel seen

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- November is National Adoption Month and recently our Nydia Han had the chance to talk to a local adoptee about her journey and a special holiday ballet she's choreographed to make Philadelphia families of all types feel seen.

Sun-Mi Cho, who is a single mother, wants to build a little more visibility because she knows she's not the only one out there.

Cho created "The Philly Funcracker" a newly imagined version of "The Nutcracker."

Instead of seeing a nuclear family, audience members will see a single, working mom whose kids are watched by an aunt who's a block captain. Instead of a Nutcracker, they'll see the Philly Fanatic. And Wawa plays a role.

Cho opened her studio, Ballet Sunmi, in the Asian Arts Initiative in Chinatown four years ago in hopes of creating a space where everyone feels they belong. A sense of belonging is something Cho has struggled with most of her life.

"I was born in Korea," she said.

Cho was adopted by a family in Long Beach Island, New Jersey when she was two years old.

"They have four biological children," she said. "And so I grew up with four older brothers. I was the only girl and I was the only one adopted."

Cho says her adoptive parents changed her name from Sun-Mi Chang to Cindy Davis.

"I just always felt like that just wasn't my name," she said. "And I was told very, very clearly not to mention that I was adopted."

She says being different wasn't easy.

"When I would sign up for things and people would say 'Cindy Davis,' and then I would show up and they'd be like, 'No, no, we're looking for Cindy Davis.' And I was like, 'It's me,'" she said. "And I felt really challenged and uncomfortable as a child. And it was something that brought me some anxiety and there was no community around it. So it was a very solo experience."

It is, for many adoptees, four times more likely to attempt suicide than non-adoptees.

"Maybe nothing really was wrong or terrible in your family adoption process, but you still have a grief and a loss," she explained.

Fortunately for Cho, she discovered ballet, a place to channel her frustration and express her trauma.

She has a message for other adoptees who might still be struggling.

"I think that it's wonderful to honor the grief and loss and not be always having to feel so grateful. Not that you're not grateful, but I do believe that finding your own struggle and grappling in there is so valuable. It's really a place of celebration."

Cho says she is also making sure the Chinese Tea and Arabian Coffee dances are culturally appropriate.

"The Philly Funcracker" performance will be December 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Asian Arts Initiative. Tickets are just $10.