In front of her, papers and diagrams were scattered across the table. Formations became calculations, each shift mapped with precision. It’s an analog approach from before the age of digital choreographic tools—one that enabled Yuanyuan Wang to choreograph on a stage as large as the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Yuanyuan Wang is a leading contemporary dance choreographer born and raised in Beijing. She has choreographed for companies including the New York City Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet and the National Ballet of China. In film, her collaborators include directors Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang. Wang is also the founder of the Beijing Dance Theater, whose works have been presented on stages around the world.
Photo by Matt de la Peña | Courtesy of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
Separating the label of “Chinese” from “choreographer”
Wang grew up training at the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA) before furthering her education in contemporary dance and choreography at the academy and the California Institute of the Arts, respectively. Her Chinese upbringing has continued to shape her artistic voice instinctively, grounding her work even as it evolves through global influences.
“I trained in the Chinese movement language system and carry these roots like a tree grown from a Chinese seedling,” Wang said. “My practice in contemporary dance was later shaped by Western influences, which helped nourish that seed.”
Ultimately, the convergence of Wang’s background and her experiences abroad allowed her movement to grow into an international mode of expression.
Rather than positioning her upbringing and international exposure as opposites, Wang frames them as part of the same growth process.
Her work is neither purely “Chinese” nor simply “global,” but something that emerges through the interaction of both, existing along the broader continuum of contemporary dance. In Five Premises for a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance, Deidre Sklar writes that all movement is an embodiment of cultural knowledge. Wang does not have to actively perform her Chinese cultural background– it is embedded in her movement language.
Wang shared a brief excerpt from her work, choreographed for students at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, at the Dance as Diplomacy event on April 1. The movement was architectural, echoing the music’s strong percussion. The excerpt challenged a familiar pattern of othering, particularly for Asian choreographers, in which cultural identity is treated as the primary intention. Wang’s work was allowed to exist simply as choreography, placing her in dialogue with the field at large and among her international peers.
“You cannot see any stereotypical Chinese symbols in the work, yet at its core, everything stems from that original seedling, which I have nurtured and embedded in these performers,” Wang said. “No matter how contemporary my work is or how innovative I approach movement expression, people will always recognize me as a choreographer from China.”
Photo by Nathan Carter | Courtesy of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
How contemporary dance serves as a tool for global communication
“Contemporary dance is a global language,” Wang said. “It does not belong to a single country or cultural context, so it is inherently a language that enables communication across borders.”
Wang has observed that when traditional Chinese classical or folk dance productions come to the United States, ticket sales perform poorly. “This is because when you bring purely authentic Chinese art to American audiences, there is an inherent disconnect between the work and the viewers,” she said.
“Without the necessary cultural background or context, many perceive the works as distant from their own lives, making emotional resonance difficult—the sense of alienation prevents audiences from fully connecting with the performance.”
To Wang, the beauty of cross-cultural communication lies in using familiar language to introduce unfamiliar concepts.
“Wild Grass” is perhaps the clearest example of this approach in practice. Set to Lu Xun’s prose poetry collection of the same name, “Wild Grass” is one of Wang’s most popular productions abroad.
“When Beijing Dance Theater performed in Germany in 2023, we sold out four shows in less than a week,” Wang said. “Almost all of our overseas engagements rely on ‘Wild Grass’ because I have translated the literary work into the universal language of emotion.”
At its core, the work remains a Chinese seedling, but audiences can discern the emotional intent behind the steps.
Photo by Nathan Carter | Courtesy of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance
Rethinking Mainstream Success in Contemporary Dance
Becoming a mainstream form of entertainment attracts more funding and reduces pressure on ticket sales. For Wang, this shift could help alleviate the financial strain of running her company, Beijing Dance Theater. However, she doesn’t see mainstream success in China as essential, recognizing that contemporary dance is, by nature, a more niche form.
“I feel that contemporary dance is not mainstream not because it is bad, but because audiences are receptive to different modes of understanding,” she said. “Our traditional education emphasizes that you take in whatever is given to you, and you expect to be told what something means.” In contrast, contemporary dance offers room for imagination and interpretation.
“Besides, China is a vast country, and each ethnic group carries its own distinct artistic and cultural traditions,” Wang said. “Contemporary dance is an imported form in essence, which makes it more difficult to achieve mainstream popularity.”
Whether contemporary dance becomes as popular as Douyin (TikTok) dances is not Wang’s primary concern. Her enduring dedication to the field reflects a commitment to sharing her work with audiences both at home and abroad. Wang’s perspective is notable at a time when likes often speak louder than artistic integrity, and dance is increasingly shaped by platform trends, where visibility is driven by spectacle and what captures attention fastest.
About the author:
Irena Yin is a creative with a multicultural twist pursuing a BFA in Dance and an MA in Public Relations and Advertising. If she had one word to describe herself, it would be gouache. A blend of acrylic + watercolor — an ideal medium.
