Yin Mei
Encyclopedia
Yin Mei is a choreographer and dancer, and the founder of a dance company based in New York City
.
during the Cultural Revolution
. Her experiences during this time greatly influenced her artistic philosophy. As she writes in her artist statement:
Ms. Yin’s memories provide a driving force to her works. For example, Nomad, a quartet of pieces, is framed by voice-overs taken from Ms. Yin’s diaries as a 7-year old in China and includes revolutionary slogans.
, and Dance Theater Workshop
and internationally in Japan
, China
, and Germany
.
Yin Mei Dance aims to evoke a personal or spiritual connection with audiences by offering interdisciplinary work that goes beyond the immediate performance. Artistic director Yin Mei melds visual art and Western contemporary dance with her training in Chinese court and folk dance, Peking Opera, martial arts
, Tai Chi, and other traditional Asian dance forms to create dance theater works. To date, the company has 18 pieces in their repertory.
Yin Mei has pursued notable collaborations, including work with visual artist Xu Bing
and composer Tony Prabowo on Empty Tradition/City of Peonies (1998), and visual artist Cai Guo-Qiang
and composer Robert Een
on /Asunder (2001).
, where peonies have a long history, but were banned during the Revolution
because they were too colorful.
The New York Times
dance critic Jennifer Dunning wrote that Empty Tradition "recreates the experience of living under a repressive government and society where forbidden language, thoughts and feelings nonetheless push through like green grass cracking concrete paving."
Jennifer Dunning, writing of the piece "/Asunder" in the New York Times, describes Yin Mei as having "a striking visual sense and an authoritative way with social and literary themes."
Larry Murray, writing in Berkshire on Stage, said of Yin Mei that she "combines her training in classical Chinese dance with contemporary forms and a unique spatial awareness to create powerful, innovative work."
Jennifer Fisher, in the Los Angeles Times
, comments that Yin Mei "has a strong sense of design and is a dancer of luminous clarity ... In the strongly evocative solo that begins "/Asunder," her movement hallmarks emerge: a combination of delicacy and strong intention, and firmly rooted feet that support swooning explorations of arms and torso."
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Life and career
Yin Mei was born and raised in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
. Her experiences during this time greatly influenced her artistic philosophy. As she writes in her artist statement:
I am part of a generation of artists who lost their childhood to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, who experienced a world gone mad…Five thousand years of Chinese art and culture tossed in the garbage heap. From this, a generation of survivors – and of fighters – my generation – was born. But from this, how does one make art? How does one deal with memories that burn in the brain, that haunt one’s waking hours, that tattoo images of rage beneath one’s skin? For me, the trauma of my early years has led, not toward social engagement, nor toward abstraction, but toward the unmapped provinces of my own heart. What I have come to understand is that my work is essentially an exploration of the wounded self: How does a fighter dance?
Ms. Yin’s memories provide a driving force to her works. For example, Nomad, a quartet of pieces, is framed by voice-overs taken from Ms. Yin’s diaries as a 7-year old in China and includes revolutionary slogans.
Yin Mei Dance company
Yin Mei Dance was founded in 1995 to further the choreographic and performance efforts of founder and artistic director Yin Mei. The company has performed across the United States in venues such as Jacob's Pillow Dance, La MaMa Experimental Theatre ClubLa MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is an off-off Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, and named in reference to her. Located on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the theatre grew out of Stewart's tiny basement boutique for her fashion designs; the boutique's space acted as a theatre for...
, and Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop
Dance Theater Workshop, colloquially known as DTW, is a New York City performance space and service organization for dance companies. Located as 219 West 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, DTW was founded in 1965 by Jeff Duncan, Art Bauman and...
and internationally in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Yin Mei Dance aims to evoke a personal or spiritual connection with audiences by offering interdisciplinary work that goes beyond the immediate performance. Artistic director Yin Mei melds visual art and Western contemporary dance with her training in Chinese court and folk dance, Peking Opera, martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, Tai Chi, and other traditional Asian dance forms to create dance theater works. To date, the company has 18 pieces in their repertory.
Yin Mei has pursued notable collaborations, including work with visual artist Xu Bing
Xu Bing
Xu Bing is a Chinese-born artist, resident in the United States since 1990. He currently resides in Beijing.-Biography:...
and composer Tony Prabowo on Empty Tradition/City of Peonies (1998), and visual artist Cai Guo-Qiang
Cai Guo-Qiang
Cai Guo-Qiang is a Chinese contemporary artist and curator.-Biography:Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. He was trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theater Academy from 1981 to 1985. Cai's work is scholarly and often politically charged...
and composer Robert Een
Robert Een
-Career:Known for his use of extended vocal and cello techniques, Een has recorded eight albums of his compositions, as well as composing scores for seven films. His music for dance and theater can be heard in the repertories of Liz Lerman, David Dorfman, Jennifer Muller, and Yin Mei among others....
on /Asunder (2001).
Reception
Yin Mei's piece Empty Tradition/City of Peonies draws inspiration from her hometown, LuoyangLuoyang
Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...
, where peonies have a long history, but were banned during the Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
because they were too colorful.
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
dance critic Jennifer Dunning wrote that Empty Tradition "recreates the experience of living under a repressive government and society where forbidden language, thoughts and feelings nonetheless push through like green grass cracking concrete paving."
Jennifer Dunning, writing of the piece "/Asunder" in the New York Times, describes Yin Mei as having "a striking visual sense and an authoritative way with social and literary themes."
Larry Murray, writing in Berkshire on Stage, said of Yin Mei that she "combines her training in classical Chinese dance with contemporary forms and a unique spatial awareness to create powerful, innovative work."
Jennifer Fisher, in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, comments that Yin Mei "has a strong sense of design and is a dancer of luminous clarity ... In the strongly evocative solo that begins "/Asunder," her movement hallmarks emerge: a combination of delicacy and strong intention, and firmly rooted feet that support swooning explorations of arms and torso."
Works
- A Scent Of Time (2010) – commissioned by The Beijing Dance AcademyBeijing Dance AcademyBeijing Dance Academy , also known as Beijing Dance Institute, is the only institution of higher education in dance in China. There are three specialties: performance, choreography and dance studies. It offers Master's degrees and Bachelor's degrees....
- City Of Paper (2010) – collaboration with Dai Jian, Kota Yamazaki
- Cursive (2006) – also titled: Ink/Paper/Body/Scent, Wild Grass
- Nomad: The River (2005)
- Nomad: Tea (2002)
- /Asunder (2001)
- Empty Tradition/City Of Peonies (1998)
- Seeing In The Rain (2003)
- The Tipsy Concubine (1999)
- Empty Bell (1997)
- I Move To Keep Things Whole (1997)
- Sun/Moon/Me (1997)
- Love Suicides At Amijima (1996)
- Book Of Women (1996)
- Solo I & II (1996)
- Fan and Shakuhachi (1996)
- Legacies (1995)
- Shaman (1995)