Kun Yang Lin

Artistic Director, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers , Founder, CHI Movement Arts Center 

Nomination:

Nominated by Katie Moore:  "Kun-Yang Lin (Executive Artistic Director & Founder of CHI Movement Arts Center) views dance as his first language. Raised in a home where his parents never spoke the same language, Lin learned to communicate most articulately through gesture and action. Many other tensions in his life have shaped Lin’s artistry — he was raised in the faith of his father (Catholicism) in an environment steeped in the traditions of his mother (Buddhism and Taoism), and he navigates life as an Eastern immigrant in a Western society. Lin is deeply invested in the dialogues between innovation and tradition, the individual and the collective, the visible and invisible — “in between spaces” that he finds to be fertile ground for exploration. After receiving his BFA from Taiwan National University of the Arts, Lin accepted a fellowship to the Laban Centre in London and a position there with Transitions Dance Company. Following extensive international touring with Transitions, he came to New York in 1994. Over the course of 10 years, Lin performed in the companies of many iconic American choreographers, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Anna Sokolow, and in the companies of Janis Brenner, Jennifer Muller, Kevin Wynn and “post-modernist” dance-makers, Lynn Shapiro and Paula Josa-Jones. In 1998, he formed his own company, KYL/D, to further develop his artistic vision. Lin was awarded a full fellowship to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, from which he received an MFA in 2003. That year, Temple University recruited Lin to teach and, in 2008, he relocated KYL/D from New York City to Philadelphia and established CHI Movement Arts Center (or “CHI MAC”) to build upon his practice-as-research, deepen his own artistry, and advance conversations between the Temple campus and the communities of Philadelphia and beyond. Since 2008, Lin has developed a broad range of programming at CHI MAC for aspiring, professional dancers and community members, including the InHale Performance Series for emerging and established dance artists."

About Kun Yang:

Kun-Yang Lin is a dance teacher and the Executive Artistic Director & Founder of CHI Movement Arts Center, a nationally recognized professional dance company in Philadelphia. He attributes his success to commitment, patience, and believing in what you do. 

Chinese culture has an invaluable influence on his work, represented by classical and folk dances, martial arts, tai chi, qi gong, calligraphy, and various Asian meditation practices. In addition, Lin's choreographic concepts further draw upon Chinese philosophies such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.

"Dance is, for me, almost like Buddha saying , “to watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.” So, learning about dance is like learning about life."

Lin is originally from Taiwan and worked his whole life to become a dancer, and his profession took him around the world to study and perform, and finally brought him to Philadelphia in 2003. Today, he is a recognized contributor to the arts and culture of Philadelphia and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Article by I Belong Philly. Created by Cristina Zanoni, and Maria Gonzalez.

Quotes from Kun Yang:

So, dance is, for me, almost like Buddha saying "To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance". So, learning about dance is like learning about life. So when I moved to the United States, I think looking at those things became much easier as a dancer. Sometimes you are learning things you don't get right away. Or if you're learning dance, sometimes you get injured, and that gives you a certain idea that nothing is easy. But, you know, you'll find in your heart the feeling that "I'm on the right track". That's why I moved to the United States. That's why I was able to have that freedom to really explore to discover dance, and art. There are many resources in this country, the sense of freedom, you’re without really carrying that cultural baggage that you tells you could only do certain things. But, in the United States, I found that freedom allowed me to focus on dance. And that's what I do.  Life is sometimes like…when you experience it, you start to know what to do. And I think this is like creating a dance. Sometimes I don't know anything, but I can only live in the present moment, fully. And that's why I always enjoy dancing. 

"Dance itself allows you to broaden yourself and become bigger than you" 

'I am also very grateful to call Philadelphia my home. I feel like Philadelphia gives a sense of home. And, you know, this is where I belong. That's why I established my assets and created a home for my art, created a home for me to make art, created a home for my dancers " 

“My advice is: commitment, patience, and belief in what you do.”