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Inside a building near Broad and Federal streets last week, dancers emanated emotion during rehearsal. Their faces may have been blank, but their bodies did all the talking.
Through a mix of fast and slow music, the four women leapt, scurried and rolled around the hardwood floor — sometimes as if in pain, other times in a state of serenity. The dancers were under the direction of Kun-Yang Lin, the man who has taken his life’s experiences and transformed them into movement.
But this performance, titled "Crossing," is only partly autobiographical. The resident has a unique bond with the people for whom he choreographs, and prefers to channel their emotions through dance.
"By the end, [‘Crossing’] is nothing about me," Lin, of the 900 block of Kimball Street, said. "By the end, it’s about each individual — the dancers, their story."
Lin’s own story is one that crosses borders and artistic boundaries. The new piece, on stage at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Feb. 9 and 10, is a hybrid of eastern and western dance concepts he has absorbed and reinvented through his global travels.
The performance also is the Philadelphia premiere for his dance company, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, which began in New York City. Lin now has dance groups in both cities.
Taking part in six sections, "Crossing" is inspired by Lin’s transition from New York to Philly — and the opportunities and challenges that have popped up along the way.
"Whatever my experience, I feel it’s provided me a lot of resources into my work or into the understanding of the self or of the body," he said.
I. Crossing
Moving to South Philly in 2003, Lin had to find a way to acclimate to his new home.
"How can you let your voice be heard in a new community?" he posed. "Definitely, you feel you have to start over because it’s a new environment."
He looked at residences near the art museum, but it lacked that sense of closeness Lin was accustomed to in his hometown in Taiwan. South Philly — and its neighborly atmosphere — was a breath of fresh air, he said.
"The location has a great sense of community," Lin said.
However, Lin, 38, never shied away from trying something new. Originally from the town of Shin Chu (meaning "new bamboo"), he started a male dance troupe at age 12.
"As a kid, I was always fascinated by all the different kinds of movement," Lin said, adding folk dance, social dance, martial arts and skating — both ice and roller — were some of the forms he taught himself. "I realized there was a lot of boys that do like to move and do like to dance, but a lot of people thought dancing was a girl’s thing."
Through this endeavor, Lin also attempted to break a stereotype, since martial arts carries a violent connotation. The dancer said he uses the energy of this art form in his pieces to "make a powerful movement happen."
"Martial arts is always somehow related to dance," he said. "It’s something you practice, but it always has a kind of presentation. It’s not really for fighting."
The six-member troupe performed in festivals around town, but it was during high school Lin learned his talents could lead to a career. A teacher saw a performance and said, "You should really go forward with this," Lin recalled.
And he did. In the late 1980s, he entered adulthood and a competitive conservatory in Taipei, Taiwan.
II. Trapped
Asian culture, Lin said, typically pushed people to become successful professionals. The arts were seldom popular career choices.
Nevertheless, the dancer knew what he wanted and went after it — despite the feeling of being restricted.
The art conservatory taught Lin modern ballet and other structured forms of movement, but he was more of a free spirit.
"For the first time, you feel like you cannot move because it’s a specific art form," Lin said.
Since Lin physically pushed himself, injuries resulted. "At the time, you don’t know your body," he said. "You’re also forcing yourself. Through injury, you get an awareness of your body.
The dancer fueled his passion and graduated from the five-year institution in ’92 — one of only eight graduates in an initial program of 30.
"A lot of people hate that school because it was very strict," Lin said. "Looking back, I really appreciated it. It gave me solid training."
III. Escape
Unleashed from a structured surrounding, the dancer was offered the opportunity to become a member of Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Company but declined.
"I wanted to open my eyes," he said. "I wanted to see the world."
In 1992, he moved to London at age 23 and joined the Transitions Dance Company, working with nine European choreographers and traveling the globe — including the U.S. for the first time. He soon learned the ins and outs of contemporary dance.
"That gave me the idea: Contemporary dance is free, but where is the root? That concept is what brought me to New York."
IV. Surrender?
Lin took a chance and moved to the Big Apple in ’94, where he began to study the pioneers of modern dance. To him, it was like a "journey through history."
He became principal dancer at the Doris Humphrey Repertory Dance Company and performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Lin knew he had extensive knowledge of varying concepts and, instead of classifying his style as one category, he wanted to find his own identity.
While in New York, he was invited to show his first work during an outdoor performance at the Lincoln Center. Since then, he has attempted to create different works every year and the dancers have followed.
"They believe in my work, they believe in me as a person, but at the same time, they believe in themselves," Lin said. "They formed the company. I never formed the company."
V. Crossroad
The title of his group — Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers with the purposeful omission of "and" — is evocative of the oneness Lin experiences with his counterparts.
"Do they have a soul, not just a movement?" he asks himself while deciding who will join his company.
In ’03, he said fate stepped in when a new job cropped up in Philadelphia. Lin kept his six New York-based dancers, but decided to make the move.
He questioned the limitations of starting anew in this city, wondering if it would be fruitful — specifically since he would have to find a new crop of dancers to mold.
But Lin’s doubts soon subsided, and he began his job as a dance instructor at Temple University, where he teaches technique, composition and repertoire.
VI. Be
Now with six new Philadelphia-based dancers as part of his troupe, Lin is seeing which group — New York or Philly — works best. Two of his performers reside in the area: Olive Prince, of 10th and Cross streets, and Ben Wegman, of 10th and Christian streets.
No matter the outcome, Lin is comfortable in his skin. The final part of "Crossing," supported by Temple and Dance Advance — a program funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts — exemplifies this mindset.
"It’s about who you are, to accept what surrounds you and embrace whatever comes to you — whether it’s a challenge or whether it’s an opportunity.
"That’s why dance is a great thing, because it helps you understand yourself and helps identify who you are."
