Yin Mei

Yin Mei (born in China) is a choreographer and dancer, and the founder of a dance company based in New York City.

Yin Mei was born and raised in China during the Cultural Revolution. Her experiences during this time greatly influenced her artistic philosophy. As she writes in her artist statement:

I am part of a generation of artists who lost their childhood to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, who experienced a world gone mad…Five thousand years of Chinese art and culture tossed in the garbage heap. From this, a generation of survivors – and of fighters – my generation – was born. But from this, how does one make art? How does one deal with memories that burn in the brain, that haunt one’s waking hours, that tattoo images of rage beneath one’s skin? For me, the trauma of my early years has led, not toward social engagement, nor toward abstraction, but toward the unmapped provinces of my own heart. What I have come to understand is that my work is essentially an exploration of the wounded self: How does a fighter dance?

Yin Mei started dancing professionally aged 14, joining China's Henan Province Dance Company; she moved to the United States in 1985.

Ms. Yin’s memories provide a driving force to her works. For example, Nomad, a quartet of pieces, is framed by voice-overs taken from Ms. Yin’s diaries as a 7-year old in China and includes revolutionary slogans.

Yin Mei Dance was founded in 1995 to further the choreographic and performance efforts of founder and artistic director Yin Mei. The company has performed across the United States in venues such as Jacob's Pillow Dance, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and Dance Theater Workshop and internationally in Japan, China, and Germany.

Yin Mei Dance aims to evoke a personal or spiritual connection with audiences by offering interdisciplinary work that goes beyond the immediate performance. Artistic director Yin Mei melds visual art and Western contemporary dance with her training in Chinese court and folk dance, Peking Opera, martial arts, T'ai chi, and other traditional Asian dance forms to create dance theater works. To date, the company has 18 pieces in their repertory.

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