We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yang Sun a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Yang, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
I am a dancer and choreographer now based in New York City. I started formal dance training very late compare to many of my colleagues in the field. Remembering my first dance intensive at age of 17, I was grouped with the 11 years old due to my lack of formal training. There had been years like this when I was pulled between my passion for dance and my insecurities in dance classes. It would be a lie to say that I was born with confidence. In fact, I spent years working on it. As I dedicated my focus, energy and time to improving my skills over the past years, I have become a stronger dancer, performer, and choreographer. Thanks to my late start in formal training, I was also able to maintain a very personal and unique sense in choreographic styles. Now, with invited performance opportunities in New York and Massachusetts, I have grown to be confident and have find trusts and a sense of home in the dance community. One lesson I learned is that confidence is an end result of dedicated effort in ability and personal growth. It is more than a slogan or a belief. It grows with actions and efforts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Yang is a dancer, choreographer, and visual artist. Her strong bond with movements started with improvisation practices in the field, cafeteria, corridor, riverbank and other non-traditional spaces in her high school years. Following her improvisation journey, she trained in Contemporary, Ballet, and Hip Hop through the Five College Dance programs during undergraduate studies. Pursuing her interest in the intersection of movement, visual art, and theater, she studied at La MaMa Theater in New York as an alum for Trinity/La MaMa program. In the Fall 2022, she furthered her training with the NUOVA X program in Torino, Italy.
As a choreographer, she has curated interactive installations Project 2020: an interactive dance film series reflecting shared solitude under the pandemic. She has presented her choreographic work in venues including La MaMa, Arts on Site, Kirby Theater, American Dance Festival Informal Concert, etc. Her most recent work Poet was selected to present at Regional Gala at ACDA Northeast Regional Conference. Poet was also selected as one of the 16 finalist/Interviewee to be considered for New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks Residency 2024. In 2024, her dance film Poet was selected by the renowned ITSLIQUID GROUP for ANIMA MUNDI 2024 exhibition in Venice, Italy, 2024. Poet is also an official selection of Fass Forward Dance Film Festival Curated by Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur.
Dance for Yang is a speech, and a visual poetry sung by the body. She values the sincerity in movement that captures all the liminal spaces words fail to express. She draws her inspiration from deep observation of the people, the environment, and the self. She believes in the art’s power to heal, reveal, and make a difference. She says:
“ I am a drifting soul searching for sanctuary in movement, color, and poetry, and dance has indeed provided me a home.”
Yang is in the process of starting her own dance company Yang Sun and The Poets. Meanwhile, her most recent work “The Stranger” will present at Arts on Site and various other venues in New York. Please stay tuned by joining the mailing lists on her website (www.yangsunmovements.com) for performance and company updates! Or follow her on instagram: @yang_sun47.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Motivation for Action – Action is important. If you let the thinking sits, it will be unlikely to come true.
Curiosity – Curiosity is the seed for improvement and joy.
Community – Dance is after all a communal activity, we share our joy of movements to and with each other.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Rejoice for No Reason by Xiuhua Yu
“Yu Xiuhua’s poem and prose came into my life when I was trapped in the question of “why do I dance?”. Yu xiuhua’s writings share a raw intimacy with all the simple strength in nature, the grain, river, and mountain… Her words are like grains of wheat, rooted deeply into the earth, dancing upwards, full of unwavering determination to live vigorously and on her own terms. Despite the pain, prejudices and struggles Yu xiuhua has lived with, she holds a nearly insane dedication and pursuit for exuberant vitality. This unbattered persistence touched my soul, and that is the moment I realized that I dance out of my most sincere love and reverence to life, all lives.” -Yang Sun
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yangsunmovements.com
- Instagram: @yang_sun47
Image Credits
1- 3. Photos from my 2023 dance theater piece “Drift”. Photo by Derek Fowles. Dancer in frame: Yang Sun, Ayo Eniola, May Saito, Snigdha Ranjan, Lilly Clark
4- 6. Photos from my dance film “Poet”. Film Realization: Yang Sun, Mofei Wei, Haha Qu, Zuho
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