Skip to content
koksiarz

koksiarz

Art will brighten

Primary Menu
  • Art & Entertainments
  • Music
  • Film Industry
  • Art Kids
  • Art Photography
  • Art & Culture
  • About Us
    • Sitemap
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise Here
    • Contact Us
Watch Video
  • Home
  • Yin He Dance Company celebrates Chinese art and culture through classical, modern movement
  • Art & Culture

Yin He Dance Company celebrates Chinese art and culture through classical, modern movement

Angelia S. Rico 31/05/2022 1:05 AM

Five years ago, dance instructor Hana Liu could tell two of her youngest students weren’t satisfied with their abilities.

At about 6 years old, the two had just started dance classes at Yin He Dance, a Chinese dance company in Chicago. They weren’t very flexible yet — but a classmate was, Liu said, and she could sense their frustration.

Go home and stretch, Liu told them, and “you will get there, too.”

One day, they came in, and she asked, “Did you stretch?”

“Yes,” they answered. And she could see their progress.

Judy Liu of the Yin He Dance company performs the “Love Of Lotus” at Free Family Fun Days at Navy Pier.

Judy Liu of the Yin He Dance company performs the “Love Of Lotus” at Free Family Fun Days at Navy Pier.

“Knowing that they actually care enough to stretch on their own was something that made me realize the reward from this job,” said Liu, an instructor and dancer at Yin He who, five years later, still has them as students.

Their story illustrates what Yin He means to her, Liu said: “Dance is for everyone.”

That was a core philosophy of Yin He from the start, said Angela Tam, the company’s co-founder and dancer. She started the group in 2015 with dancers Dollie Diaz and Amy Xie. They performed together for years under teacher Jin Qiuyue in a preprofessional dance troupe called Little Star — Xiao Xing Xing in Chinese.

Soon, Jin was looking to retire, and the three dancers realized they weren’t just “kids playing around anymore,” Tam said, but were “pretty good.” They formed their own group and named it Yin He. Inspired by Little Star, Yin He means Milky Way in Chinese. They wanted it to be accessible to everyone and collaborative.

They found Liu and another dancer from the University of Chicago, which kickstarted their public appearances. Tam said they did a lot of neighborhood performances, especially in Chinatown.

Angela Tam — co-founder of the Yin He Dance company.

Angela Tam — co-founder of the Yin He Dance company.

The next step was launching the Yin He dance center. Yin He opened its own space in January 2017 and began offering classes with just four students that first month.

“That was pretty sad,” Tam said.

Yin He now has about 60 students. It also has five dancers and two apprentices who perform several times a year, showcasing Chinese classical dances, folk dances and contemporary dances, Tam said.

One of her favorites was in 2019 and early 2020. Tam said the group did a dance called “Flying Kites.” Originally choreographed in 1953, it became popular with dance companies in China. It depicts a group of young women flying kites — symbolized by fans each dancer holds. They move to make imagery with their fans — in the middle of the dance, they’ll make a butterfly. Kites are a visual art form in China, Tam said. It’s very elaborate, and the dance is considered folkloric.

Brianna Tong (left) and instructor Hana Liu, of Chicago’s Yin He Dance company, perform “Playing the Pipa in Reverse” at the Free Family Fun Days at Navy Pier.

Brianna Tong (left) and instructor Hana Liu, of Chicago’s Yin He Dance company, perform “Playing the Pipa in Reverse” at a recent Navy Pier event.

Folk dances are fun, Liu said — celebratory, upbeat and powerful. And anyone can do them, Tam said.

“It would be in a small town during a holiday celebration, all the people in the town would just get together and do that dance in the town square,” Tam said.

Classical involves more training, Liu said. Developed in the mid-1900s, it draws from Chinese martial arts, Chinese opera, Chinese folk dance, ballet and also paintings and sculptures of dancers from ancient times.

“It involves a lot of control in how you move,” Liu said, “but also being able to not have control. Controlling your body but also being relaxed.”

Tam also choreographs dances for the troupe. In 2018, she created a dance inspired by the #MeToo movement. In China, a similar hashtag circulated, with the same pronunciation but a different meaning. In Chinese, “mi” means rice, and “tu” means rabbit, so people used the hashtag “rice rabbit.”

The dance took inspiration from contemporary and classical dance and used wave imagery to convey a sense of women uplifting each other.

When Tam co-founded Yin He Dance, the founders felt that doing both traditional and contemporary dances was important because “culture is always changing.

“I like to tell people, it’s not your grandma’s Chinese dance — but also we do that, too,” Tam said.

Liu started dancing when she was 4 years old. Her mother put her in Chinese classical dance classes at a community center. But she didn’t enjoy it and quit in eighth grade, returning to it years later.

Liu said she now looks back and understands some of the aspects of her dance instruction that pushed her away and tries to help her students understand that.

“Dance is for all ages, all body shapes,” Liu said. “It’s not aligned with flexibility.”

She said Yin He instructors also talk a lot about self-confidence with their students — which they can take beyond dance.

She hopes her students are proud “of what they are doing and how far they’ve come from when they first started.”

Continue Reading

Previous: Raavan Bengali Movie Download (2022) Full Free On Mp4moviez
Next: Art Contest Tries To Impress Kremlin’s False War Narrative On Kids

Related Stories

The Age of Social Media is Ending
  • Art & Culture

The Age of Social Media is Ending

Angelia S. Rico 18/12/2024 9:23 AM
“A Famous Milanese Renaissance Girl, with Red Brushstrokes, Pixel and a Pointer” by Ozmo in Milan, Italy. – StreetArtNews
  • Art & Culture

“A Famous Milanese Renaissance Girl, with Red Brushstrokes, Pixel and a Pointer” by Ozmo in Milan, Italy. – StreetArtNews

Angelia S. Rico 13/12/2024 5:14 PM
Farewell Friend – Perspectives from The Artist’s Road
  • Art & Culture

Farewell Friend – Perspectives from The Artist’s Road

Angelia S. Rico 03/12/2024 3:36 PM
July 2025
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
« Jun    

Archives

  • June 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • December 2016

Categories

  • Art & Culture
  • Art & Entertainments
  • Art Kids
  • Art Photography
  • Film Industry
  • Music

Recent Posts

  • Top Duck Hunting Gear You Need for Success
  • The Age of Social Media is Ending
  • New School Strike Ends With Victory for Adjuncts
  • Build Your Art Business with a Small Email List of Subscribers
  • Exploring Cotton by Kara Walker beyond a simple glance. | by Cleveland Museum of Art | CMA Thinker

Fiverr

Fiverr Logo

BL

Tags

"Culinary Arts Education Morris County 4th Grade Lang Arts Arcade Game Martial Arts art Arts Arts Amp Entertainment Arts And Crafts Roof Richmond Arts And Culture Planning Ata Martial Arts Southlake College Rankings 2019 Liberal Arts culture Cvac Arts Slc" Decorative Arts Victoria And Albert Dijon Musee Des Beaux Arts Electronic Arts Disappoint Eugene Lang College Lib Arts Federal Way Arts Fine Arts Graduate Degree Programs Fun Kids Activities And Arts Global Martial Arts Houston Gretchen.Bender Redbull Arts Harvard Master Of Arts Relig Helper Arts Festival Schedule Hook Arts Media Jobs Jacqueline Traide Artist Arts Kagami Spark Arts Kaleidoscope Student Arts Festival Beijing La Arts District Bowling Language Arts Bulletin Border Language Arts Emoji Language Arts Interactive Game Liberal Arts Quizlet Apush Little Caprice X-Arts Loyal Arts Matt Jacobson Medical Arts Hospital San Lean Mh Gen Hunter Arts Gunlance Musica And Arts Hurst Pauline Arts Pdf Pembroke Pines Arts Crafts Festival Performing Arts Weekends Professor In Martial Arts Ron Culbreth Arts And Entertainment Tamil Nadu Arts Sketches Tamu Arts 149 Exam 1 The Arts Dallas Apartments
bitsynced
mintprism

You may have missed

Top Duck Hunting Gear You Need for Success
  • Art & Entertainments

Top Duck Hunting Gear You Need for Success

Angelia S. Rico 23/06/2025 2:10 AM
The Age of Social Media is Ending
  • Art & Culture

The Age of Social Media is Ending

Angelia S. Rico 18/12/2024 9:23 AM
New School Strike Ends With Victory for Adjuncts
  • Art Photography

New School Strike Ends With Victory for Adjuncts

Angelia S. Rico 17/12/2024 12:56 AM
Build Your Art Business with a Small Email List of Subscribers
  • Music

Build Your Art Business with a Small Email List of Subscribers

Angelia S. Rico 15/12/2024 2:05 PM
koksiarz.com | MoreNews by AF themes.

WhatsApp us