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Allen Yu

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Allen Yu (Chinese: 余能盛; born 1959) is a Taiwanese dancer and choreographer. Trained as an engineer at the National Kaohsiung Institute of Technology, Yu attended Chinese Culture University before accepting a scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He performed and choreographed throughout Europe, in Belgium, Germany, and Austria, while maintaining a periodic affiliation with Chamber Ballet Taipei in Taiwan. Yu returned to Taiwan in 2015 to lead that dance company, which he renamed Formosa Ballet.

Early life, education, and European career

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Yu was born in Tainan in 1959. His first experience with dance came at age seven, when he was permitted to watch, but not participate in, his sister's lessons. While studying chemical engineering at National Kaohsiung Institute of Technology, Yu danced for recreation, performance, and competitive purposes. Following compulsory military service, Yu studied dance privately with Li Dan. He subsequently enrolled at Chinese Culture University, where he was taught by Wu Man-li and Gao Yan. Yu joined the institution's Hwa Kang Dance Troupe. After working with the Youth Goodwill Mission, Yu's scholarship to the Royal Conservatory of The Hague came into effect. Upon Yu's return to Taiwan in 1984, he found that there were little opportunity to perform. Through contacts at the Royal Conservatory, Yu auditioned for the Ballet royal de Wallonie [fr] of Charleroi. Yu later performed throughout Germany, namely at the Musiktheater im Revier, Theater Osnabrück, and Landestheater Coburg. At the Musiktheater im Revier, Yu received his first experience as a choreographer. With Theater Osnabrück, Yu was made ballet master. In 2001, Yu joined Oper Graz as deputy ballet director and choreographer.[1][2] While with Graz, Yu has worked with the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre, as well as other companies.[3] Yu has been acknowledged as the first male Taiwanese professional dancer in Europe and the first Taiwanese director of a European ballet company.[4]

Career in Taiwan

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Yu worked with the Chamber Ballet Taipei and its cofounder Chiang Chiou-o on a part-time basis from 1994 to 1998. He served as the troupe's artistic director, ballet master and choreographer. He rejected a 1998 offer to lead the troupe outright, and the company became inactive. Yu's next performance in Taiwan was in 2003, with Wu Su-fen's Taipei Ballet Company. In 2006, Yu reestablished Chamber Ballet Taipei.[1][2] He again served as the reincarnated troupe's artistic director and choreographer.[5][6] As a part-time venture, the troupe was most active when Yu spent vacations in Taiwan.[7][8] In the spring, Yu would host auditions, and spend summer in rehearsal.[9] Under Yu's leadership, the Chamber Ballet Taipei's performances regularly featured live orchestral music,[10][11] often by the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra.[12][13] At the time, the playing of live music alongside ballet performances was considered a rarity in Taiwan.[14] Yu has frequently featured the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in his own work,[15][16] and, in 2013, restaged Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake at Metropolitan Hall in Taipei.[17][18] In 2015, Yu left Oper Graz to focus on Chamber Ballet Taipei, which he renamed Formosa Ballet.[19][20] That same year, Yu was named the Tainan Municipal Cultural Center's first artistic director.[19][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Raising the Barre for Ballet". Taiwan Today. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b Baker, Diane (21 July 2006). "Dancing through Tchaikovsky's love life". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. ^ Baker, Diane (5 August 2011). "Giselle gets an office job". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. ^ Baker, Diane (9 August 2018). "No illusions about planetary threats and aging populations". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ^ Baker, Diane (8 August 2011). "THE WEEKENDER: Factory-floor 'Giselle' a charming addition". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ^ Baker, Diane; Wycech, Olivia (13 October 2012). "The Weekender: Two for the books". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. ^ Baker, Diane (3 August 2007). "'Like a bird in a cage'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. ^ Baker, Diane (15 August 2008). "'La Dame aux Camelias' flowers on staying power". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ^ Baker, Diane (7 August 2009). "DANCE : A little typhoon music". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019. Alternate URL
  10. ^ Bartholomew, Ian; Baker, Diane (18 August 2008). "[THE WEEKENDER] 'Le Boite': no strings attached". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ^ Baker, Diane (8 August 2012). "Limitless imagination". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. ^ Baker, Diane (16 August 2018). "Stylish dancing and costumes highlight 'Lost Illusion'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ^ Baker, Diane (2 August 2014). "Allen Yu's Chamber Ballet Taipei looks at Taiwan's strange side". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. ^ Baker, Diane (28 February 2019). "Ballet with orchestra: A match made in heaven — and Germany". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  15. ^ Baker, Diane (9 August 2019). "Highlight: Exploring Tchaikovsky through Tchaikovsky". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. ^ Baker, Diane (7 March 2019). "Dance review: Modernity and Mahler in the hands of two masters". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  17. ^ Baker, Diane (15 August 2013). "The swan lives". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  18. ^ Baker, Diane (28 August 2013). "A swan princess for the 21st century". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  19. ^ a b Baker, Diane (9 October 2015). "On pointe and off the walls". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  20. ^ Baker, Diane (15 April 2016). "Nights at the museum". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  21. ^ Baker, Diane (5 August 2016). "Entrances and choices". Taipei Times. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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