“You don’t dance to be able to find out how you feel, you dance when there is so much power and feeling in you, you just have to stand up and move." — YIN YUE
On Friday, October 28, 2016 New Dialect, the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville, and Metro Parks Dance Division partnered together to produce ASIAN FUSION, an intimate evening of contemporary dance works created by New Dialect guest choreographer, Yin Yue, and CAAN's founder and artistic director, Jen-Jen Lin.
Both Yin and Jen-Jen were raised in China and they are now both working choreographers based in the US.
During ASIAN FUSION, they each addressed our in-studio audience and related how their cultural heritage influences and inspires their invention of modern and contemporary dances.
Audience members then had the opportunity to witness performance excerpts by Yin, New Dialect, Jen-Jen, and CAAN.
The showing was followed by a Q&A session with the artists.
ASIAN FUSION is an ongoing series developed by Chinese Arts Alliance Nashville to promote Chinese culture and its influence on western modern and contemporary art forms. New Dialect is proud to collaborate with CAAN, and we are grateful for the support of Kathryn Wilkening and Metro Parks and Recreation Dance Division for ASIAN FUSION 2016.
Yin Yue is a versatile performer and choreographer. Born and raised in Shanghai, China, she studied classical ballet technique, Chinese classical and folk dance at Shanghai Dance School, where she received rigorous training in all aspects of the technically demanding and highly structured Chinese dance. She continued her education at Shanghai Normal University and by the end of her university training she had appeared in many festivals and dance competitions throughout China. In 2005, she was ranked among the top ten performers in the National Dance Competition in Yunnan. Intent on further developing her artistic talents, Yin moved to New York City to pursue MFA in contemporary dance at New York University.
After graduating with a MFA in dance from NYU's Tisch School of The Arts in 2008, Yin Yue quickly started to gain attention as a highly original choreographer and performer among her peers. Yin created an innovative contemporary dance technique- FoCo (FolkContemporary) Technique that soon gained the attention of the dance world. The movement style of YYDC FoCo consists of five elements: earth, wood, water, metal and fire. Each element contributes to the quality of moving and its designated body parts. The technique trains dancers to create a grounded, circular, fluid and dynamic performance that is rhythmic and powerful, yet sensual and graceful. The main themes of Yin's work are emotional experience, contrasted movement dynamic and strong physicality in all their complexity.
In 2016, Yin Yue received first place in Choreography in Shanghai Professional Dance Competition. She is also winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago International Commissioning Project 2015 and winner of 2015 BalletX Choreographic Fellowship and winner of Northwest Dance Project 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Comeptition 2013 and received commissions from all three companies. She was slected as Emerging Choreographer of 2015 Springboard Danse Montreal, finalist at The A.W.A.R.D Show 2010! presented by New York The Joyce Theater Foundation.
Her work has been recognized by organizations and festivals such as Jacob's Pillow Dance Inside Out Festival, New York International Fringe Festival, DanceNOW[NYC] at Joe's Pub, Peridance Capezio Theater, New York Live Arts, Dixon Place, La MaMa Moves International Festival and many more.