Jin-Wen Yu

Jin-Wen Yu, EdD & MFA, Patrick M. Virginia Horne Henry-Bascom Professor of Dance, and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the UW-Madison Dance Department, has created, performed, directed, and produced more than 100 works in the Americas and Asia, including 45 commissioned works for professionals and institutes. Before his study in the USA, he was a soloist for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world. Dr. Yu is a six-time gala concert winner of the American College Dance Association Conference. As the Past President of World Dance Alliance-Americas (WDA-A), he has directed international dance festivals in Madison, New York City, and Vancouver.

In 1999, he founded the Madison-based Jin-Wen Yu Dance and has been presenting its annual concert at Madison since. The company has performed nationally and internationally. Dr. Yu has received numerous grants, honors, commissions, and awards, such as the NEA grant, the Outstanding Dance Artist Award from Taiwan, the Wisconsin Arts Board Choreographer Award, the first Madison CitiARTS Commission Signature Grant, the Dane County Arts Grant, among others. Yu was invited to perform a solo at UNESCO in Paris for the Celebration Concert of the 2005 International Dance Day. His works and performances have been praised in many major newspapers: “Irresistible Yu captivates audience…He makes even the slightest movement powerful, beautiful and significant. Incredible,” Fort Worth Star- Telegram; “(Yu) moves with an athleticism and a grace befitting a star,” The Boston Globe; “…his artistry allows him to participate in the divine…throughout the concert he demonstrates that he’s achieved mastery,” Chicago Reader; among others.

In 2017 and 2018, his works were presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. His work was reviewed in the UK Dancing Times as one “full of finesse with some great partnering” work.