Chan Hon Goh.

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"I have no regrets," says Chan Hon Goh, after more than 20 years with the National Ballet of Canada, 15 as a principal ballerina. Goh, 40, incurred whiplash in a car accident three years ago--driving to class as she reconditioned her body after the birth of son Aveary. Without the injury's lingering effects, Goh says she might have danced a few more years. Instead she's decided to bid her fans farewell. Her final appearance will be at the company's fundraising gala, June 17.

Born in Beijing, Goh started a new life in Canada when her ballet teacher parents, Lin Yee and Choo Chiat Goh, brother of late choreographer Choo San Goh, moved to Vancouver in 1977. As told in her 2002 autobiography, the family lived humbly in a rented basement apartment as Goh's parents, her main teachers, struggled to build their business. Today, the Goh Ballet Academy is among Canada's most respected private schools.

In 1988 Goh won a silver medal at the Adeline Genee Competition in London. She joined NBC, where, apart from international guest engagements, notably with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Goh remained.

She quickly emerged as a popular and versatile ballerina, delicately poised and charming in her stage persona. Yet behind the scenes, says frequent partner Aleksandar Antonijevic, she had a focused determination and rigorous work ethic.

"She's the epitome of the iron butterfly," says NBC artistic director Karen Kain jokingly, "and good at everything." Business included, apparently. In 1996 Goh, along with her dance teacher-choreographer husband Chun Che, designed a pointe shoe and launched a company to manufacture and market it. Principal by Chan Hon Goh currently sells about 20,000 pairs a year. Although she's decided to hang up her own pointe shoes, the ballet world will remain very much part of Goh's future.