KUN-YANG LIN/DANCERS Spring Home Season: Studio Rehearsal

KYLD 3
Photos by Mike Hurwitz.

The studio of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers is located in the heart of South Philly, right past Gino’s and Pat’s. When I arrived, the dancers were in the middle of a costume fitting for a world premiere, Spring 101, that will be performed at the Annenberg Center in less than 20 days. The simple but bright leotards caught my eyes, like the first flower that you see after long frigid winter.

The upcoming show is presented by Annenberg Center Live and NextMove Dance. The program showcases company’s repertoires, CHI (2002), Moon (1993), The Land (2000), and Dreamscape (2016) along with Spring 101.

KYLD 1Lin said in a tender tone, “Each of us may think of different ideas from a word, but how we feel is the same.”

Throughout the rehearsal, I was flabbergasted. Each piece began with an unexpected sound and a movement that I did not imagine from the title. However, the sound synchronized with the dancers, and the dancers guided me to feel. The dancers inhaled and I realized that I was breathing with them. I began to feel the pulse of muscles and nerves. Then the waves of movements. The air around us swayed. Lin gave the dancers some insights and directions, and the dancers were also open to sharing their thoughts and ideas after the rehearsal of Spring 101. Compared to other pieces, the face expressions of the dancers were distinctively unique. It was like an art museum filled with lots of paintings and sculptures from all kind of eras around the world, each so unique and different but equally vibrant and beautiful.

The dancers are very diverse, not only in their races and physicalities but also in their expressions and their languages of dance.  Their solo dances were colorful and unforgettable, and when they came together they created a powerful force. Their dance will be a blight spring sunlight after the long winter hibernation.

[Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut Street] April 12-13, 2019; kyld.org

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.