Yanan Yu
Dancer and choreographer Yanan Yu combines her experience in contemporary technique and Chinese traditional dance with interests in visual art, fine art, and mathematics.
Biography
Chinese-born Yu has studied Chinese traditional dance and folk dance since age 11. She graduated from the dance department of Wuhan Music Conservatory in Central China, then joined Guangdong Morden Dance Company (2010-2013), and HouYing Dance Theatre (2014). She has toured with dance companies worldwide, including at the OpenLook Dance Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the opening of EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue in Belgium, and the Karmiel Dance Festival & Tel Aviv Dance Season in Israel, amongst others.
Besides being a performer, Yu has also choreographed several of her own works and has been involved in research projects such as movement studies on children. Since 2013 she has shown her art pieces at many venues including the Beijing: Dance Festival in 2013, China Dance Forward 2014 in Hong Kong, Shanghai Rockbound Art Museum in 2015, Fabric Europa festival in Florence, Italy, and the Guangdong Dance Festival 2015. By mixing her dance background with other genres, including visual art, fine art and mathematics, Yu constantly explores the function of body in relation to performing arts and expands all possible ways of experiencing the body with contemporary art.
Yu has teaching experience in contemporary technique and Chinese traditional dance. She has taught at the Guangdong Dance Company Dance Center, Art Institute of Guangzhou, Guangdong Ballet Dance School, Houying Dance Theatre (Beijing) and Milano Teatro Scuola Paolo Grassi (Italy). She received her MFA in Dance at Bennington in Spring 2018.
