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Liu Yan (dancer)

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Liu Yan
刘岩 (Simplified)
劉岩 (Traditional)
BornJune 1982[1]
NationalityChinese
CitizenshipChina
Alma materBeijing Dance Academy
OccupationDancer
StyleClassical
Parent(s)Liu Xueming (father)[2]
Wang Xinlian (mother)[3]
Websiteblog.sina.com.cn/liuyan314[2]

Liu Yan is a classical Chinese dancer,[2] choreographer,[4] stage director,[4] and professor at the Beijing Dance Academy.[4] She has performed in many dance dramas and won many dance competitions in and outside China.[5]

Early life

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Liu had a passion for classical Chinese dance during her childhood.[2] She started dancing at the age of nine.[6] When she was ten years old, Liu gained admission to the Beijing Dance Academy middle school.[2] In 1993,[7] when she was eleven years old,[8] she entered the Beijing Dance Academy middle school.

Liu enrolled at the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of eighteen.[2][6] She studied professional dancing with a major in classical Chinese dance.[7] She graduated in 2003.[4][9]

Career

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Liu has performed in the 2007 CCTV New Year's Gala, alongside some of China's most famous people.[8] She has also won some of the nation's most prestigious awards for dance and drama.[8]

Liu was chosen to be the lead dancer in the "Silk Road" segment at the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening ceremony.[5][8] On 27 July, twelve days before the actual performance,[8] she fell from a malfunctioning moving platform during an evening rehearsal at the Beijing National Stadium.[8][10] She was rushed to a local military hospital where she underwent six hours of surgery.[8] The accident resulted in nerve and spinal damage, which paralyzed her lower body.[8]

In March 2010, Liu established the Liu Yan Arts Special Fund to help children living in poverty, orphans, and migrant workers' children through arts education.[9] Since March 2010,[6] she has been giving classes at the Beijing Dance Academy.[5][6] As reported in 2012, she pursued a doctorate degree in dance theory at the Beijing Dance Academy.[11] As a professor at the Beijing Dance Academy, she is also devoted to dance movement therapy.[4]

In 2016, Liu published a book titled Dance with Hands: Research of the Hand Dance in Chinese Classical Dances, detailing her research about hand gestures in classical Chinese dance.[12]

On 18 June 2021, Liu staged her directorial debut with the dance drama Jing Yan at the Century Theater in Beijing.[4] This is the first dance drama produced by the dance studio that Liu launched in 2019.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "第15届"中国青年五四奖章"初评入围人选公示". Xinhua News Agency. p. 4. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barboza, David (17 April 2009). "Still Dancing in Her Dreams". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Excerpts From an Interview With Liu Yan's Parents". The New York Times. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Chen, Nan (21 June 2021). "Dance drama debuts with banquet of Beijing life". China Daily.
  5. ^ a b c "Liu Yan". CRI English. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d Lei, Lei (26 January 2010). "Staging a comeback". China Daily. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b Chang, Emily (2009). "Dancer paralyzed in fall, dashing Olympic dreams". CNN.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Barboza, David (14 August 2008). "Behind the Opening Ceremony, a Paralyzing Fall". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Woman Humanitarian". Beijing Review. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Liu Yan's Olympic dream continues". China.org.cn. 9 December 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  11. ^ Wang, Chuhan (2012). "Classical dancer finds new life after lethal injury". China Central Television.
  12. ^ Liu, Yan (2016). Dance with Hands: Research of the Hand Dance in Chinese Classical Dances. China Intercontinental Press. ISBN 9787508533230.