Features > Dance NewsHappenings in the Field

Dance News - Philadelphia: BalletX Announces Yin Yue as First Choreographic Fellow

Selected to Create a New Work Under the Guidance of Trey McIntyre

BalletX, Philadelphia’s Premier Contemporary Ballet and Resident Dance Company of The Wilma Theater, announces Yin Yue as the winner of its inaugural Choreographic Fellowship Program, generously funded by the Wyncote Foundation. Yue, a rising star with a fresh approach to classical ballet inspired by her training in Chinese folk dance, has been chosen to create a new work for BalletX under the mentorship of world-renowned choreographer Trey McIntyre. The Choreographic Fellowship advances BalletX’s continued commitment to presenting work by emerging and established choreographers.

In April 2015, BalletX launched the Choreographic Fellowship with an international search for emerging artists in the field and received 50 applications from dancemakers around the world. Hailing from the United States, and countries as far as Canada, Russia, Denmark, and Brazil, these artists represented a diverse and promising pool of choreographers. BalletX called on the help of an expert panel of dance leaders to review applications and ultimately choose one choreographer to participate in the Fellowship. The panel included mentor Trey McIntyre, BalletX Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox, BalletX Associate Artistic Director Tara Keating, BalletX Co-Founder Matthew Neenan, Director of Programming for The Joyce Theater Martin Wechsler, and Former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Wendy Whelan.

Yin Yue, Photo courtesy of BalletX

Each panelist participated in an anonymous ratings system and unanimously agreed that Yin Yue was the best fit for the program. “We are overjoyed that our new Choreographic Fellowship program has provided us an opportunity to learn about so many outstanding emerging choreographers’ work,” says BalletX Artistic & Executive Director Christine Cox.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, Yin Yue studied classical ballet and Chinese folk dance at Shanghai Normal University. In 2005, she moved to New York City to pursue an MFA in contemporary dance at New York University’s Tisch School of The Arts. Her work has been presented at: Jacob’s Pillow Inside Out Festival, New York International Fringe Festival, and New York Live Arts, and she has won several choreographic competitions, including Hubbard Street 2’s International Commissioning Project, Northwest Dance Project’s Annual Pretty Creative Choreographic Competition, and Springboard Danse Montreal’s Emerging Choreographer Award. Yue’s distinct movement style combines grounded floor work with circular isolations to create a rhythmic interpretation of the ballet idiom. She pulls from her heritage to create a multicultural dance experience that is ever-evolving and uniquely engaging.

One of the most sought after choreographers today, Trey McIntyre has created nearly 100 world premiere ballets during the span of his career. McIntyre is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the prolific multidisciplinary group The Trey McIntyre Project, and has created work on companies including American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and Miami City Ballet, among others. Known for his innate ability to place pop culture in the context of contemporary ballet, he will bring a unique mentorship approach to this inaugural program.

Yue and McIntyre will work side-by-side during the months of January and February 2016, as they each create a new work for BalletX. These world premiere ballets will debut during BalletX’s Winter Seriesprogram (FEB 10-14 at The Wilma Theater) alongside the East Coast premiere of Matthew Neenan’s Show Me, originally commissioned for the 2015 Vail International Dance Festival. 

The BalletX Choreographic Fellowship is funded by the Wyncote Foundation through the 2016-2017 season. More information about the Choreographic Fellowship can be found at www.balletx.org/fellowship. Application guidelines and deadlines for the 2016-2017 Choreographic Fellowship will be announced in December 2015.