A Q&A with Choreographic Fellow Yin Yue
Balletx: Describe your experience at BalletX’s Choreographic Fellowship auditions. What made you decide to pursue this opportunity?
Yin Yue: First of all, as a freelance choreographer in New York City, it is always a very important part of the job to look for opportunities to expose and introduce my work to professional companies, in order to reach a larger audience. When I read through the requirements for the fellowship program and realized that I was eligible to apply, I did not hesitate to collect work samples and send out my application. I carefully selected work samples that I believe best represent my personal artistry, yet also fit into BalletX's dynamic style.
BalletX is a professional contemporary ballet company on the rise, and I have seen and heard many praises online, where videos and positive reviews are posted and shared among peers in dance world. This opportunity came at a time when I was seeking a platform to showcase my movement style, a stage to present my creation, and a supportive, nurturing and open-minded environment in which to develop my artistic voice as a choreographer. I found what I was looking for, under the guidance of experienced artistic director Christine Cox, and seasoned choreographer Trey McIntyre.
BalletX: What influences have had the greatest impact on your choreographic style?
Yin Yue: I came to the US in 2006 from Shanghai, China. The knowledge I had in terms of choreographic trends was very limited and outdated. In 2009, I came across Dark Matters by Kidd Pivot on YouTube, and I was completely blown away by the work. I became an obsessed fan of Crystal Pite. At the same time, my interest toward rhythmic and strong physical movement drove me toward another choreographer, Hofesh Shechter. Discovering their works was life changing, and they are my inspiration and motivation. I am also heavily influenced by my own culture, and by Chinese classical dance and folk dance training. All of this plays a part in my exploration of contemporary dance style.
BalletX: Tell us about FoCo technique – how are the elements of nature represented?
Yin Yue: FoCo Technique contains 5 elements - Earth, Wood, Water, Metal and Fire. I started developing FoCo in 2013 when I was fascinated by grounded movement, rhythmic steps and circular patterns, and wanted very much to combine all these elements together. I can't quite pinpoint when and how, but I started developing contemporary movement that was inspired from folk dance, especially Tibetan and Mongolian dance. I went on this route quite naturally, maybe even by chance.
In the beginning, the technique was not yet established, and its foundation was still an idea. All I knew was the look and the style of the movement I wanted dancers to achieve. I had difficulty adjusting my dancers’ movements, or rather, transferring movement from my body to theirs. That was when I thought about using 5 elements as a way to define the style and form a guideline for dancers to follow.
Earth deals with the points that touch the ground. It is represented though grounded movement and a stable base. It creates a solid foundation for all shapes and motion. Wood is represented through the strong and stable shapes the body makes. It uses parts that connect to Earth and extend outward from it - legs, torso etc. Water is represented through circular, continuous, fluid movements that come from the arms, legs and head. Metal relates to the resistance in the dancers’ movements, and Fire relates to their dynamics. When incorporating the 5 elements, I encourage dancers to think about earthy connection, solid foundation and shape, and circular and fluid movement with resistance and dynamic.
BalletX: You are not only a talented choreographer, but of course a gifted dancer and a fitness expert. You’ve said that dancing comes from a place of emotion that just needs to be expressed, and kind of “makes you move”. How about choreography and fitness - what drives those passions in you?
Yin Yue: I believe they all come from an interest in movement and a desire to create. In a way, fitness is about using physical movement to strengthen physical ability. The key to a successful fitness workout is to have effective exercises and do them correctly. It really is similar to choreographing a dance. A simple movement can be very effective, if the dancer performs it with precision and clear intent. However, I believe dance adds a layer of emotion that fitness exercises don't really need to have. The movement in dance is not just functional; it is a language. It connects what you want to say and how you want to say it. Fitness and dance are two things that feed the body and soul, in similar yet different ways.
BalletX: What does it mean to get to collaborate with Trey McIntyre?
Yin Yue: I always say the hardest thing as a choreographer is to really see your own work. It is difficult, as the creator of a dance, to see it objectively. Every artist has to believe in what they do in order to finish the work. Most of time, I depend on my instinct and knowledge, or simply how I feel during the creation process. To collaborate with Trey McIntyre is to have a mentor to oversee my process and to give that valuable feedback every artist needs while making work. He can objectively see where the piece is heading and ask those questions that really need to be answered, in order to search further and dig deeper into the work. In this way, his mentorship helps me go beyond what I am comfortable with doing and challenges me to go into new areas, in a supportive environment.
BalletX: What can we expect from this world-premiere?
Yin Yue: The work is a group dance of approximately 25 minutes. In this work, I will feature two distinct contemporary movement styles, an original score, highly physical choreography, and an abstract and symbolic story with central characters. The dance is an exploration into life and death; it is a glimpse into one man's story about what it means to be alive and be a witness to his fading memory. The choreography is not only the dancers' journey to find meaning in life, but also ours, as human beings, unable to escape the fate of ending.
