Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, the acclaimed local dance company, is addressing the issue of immigration, refugees and community in its latest show, “Home/S. 9th Street,” Nov. 19-21 at FringeArts.
In the show, the dancers explore their experiences as well as those of their neighbors along Philadelphia’s South Ninth Street corridor.
Out choreographer and artistic director Kun-Yang Lin said getting the dancers and members of the community to share their stories was an important part of the creative process for the show.
“The whole process is about surrender,” he said. “You have to surrender yourself to open up. We would like to hear what other people’s viewpoints are. What is their story? The creative process for me, that’s the first important element. You have to surrender yourself and then have no expectations. I think how the piece unfolds is really from that surrendered state and creates that possibility. And then the piece grows from there.
“I think the piece has a sense of wholeness. It’s not just about self or growth, it’s also about my students, my family, people in the show or my community. It becomes something bigger than the capacity of ourselves, about acceptance, diversity, race and gender.”
Lin said the resulting piece is intensely personal while also being universal, and that what audience members take away from the show depends on their own experiences going in.
“It’s a microcosm of the larger world,” he said. “What people can experience is our common humanity. For immigrants who are in the minority, there is a fear and struggle. It’s like in life sometimes as a gay person. We experience that. Of course I think it’s about owning that awareness of that common humanity. It’s a metaphor to allow us to re-look at the small things that we can learn from. The beauty of the piece is that people can take the stories of that particular area and maybe manifest it into something bigger, maybe into their own childhood or where they are coming from. So the piece and how it unfolds is a surprise for the audience.
“The piece is not literal to the title, giving people the sense it’s about one particular location. It’s about a metaphor of our larger world. The piece allows you to appreciate the diversity of this country. That’s why the piece is called ‘Home,’ because we carry our home with us all the time. That’s the beauty of the dance experiences because it stimulates the audience’s imagination.”
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers presents “Home/S. 9th Street” Nov. 19-21 at FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Blvd. For more information or tickets, visit www.kunyanglin.org or call 215-413-1318.