Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers Reveals Final Home Season With ECHO AND FLAME / FENGHUANG AWAKENS At Drexel’s Mandell Theater

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers will present its final home season concert, Echo and Flame / Fenghuang Awakens, at the Mandell Theater at Drexel University. The program brings together new creations, collaborative tributes, and selected repertory works in a series of performances that reflect the company’s artistic legacy in Philadelphia.

The concert features the world premiere of Fire Ritual Dance / Fenghuang In Us, the 110th creative work by Artistic Director Kun-Yang Lin. The piece draws on Confucian philosophy, the elemental symbolism of fire, and the myth of the Fenghuang, or Chinese phoenix, as a metaphor for balance, renewal, and transformation. Structured in five sections—Wisdom, Fire, Fenghuang, Transformation, and Us—the work incorporates original music by Singaporean composer Dayn Ng, sound design by Cory Neale, and live taiko drumming by Joe Small.

Also receiving its premiere is 17 Moves / In Memory of Gus, a collaborative tribute honoring the late dance artist Gus Solomons, Jr. Developed during the pandemic, the work is based on 17 everyday tasks assigned by Solomons and is performed as a solo by a different artist at each performance. The project features original music by Cory Neale and reflects the collaborative process shared by mature artists working across cities during a period of physical separation.

In addition to the new works, the program includes selections from KYL/D’s repertory. These include Pilgrimage (sections from From the Land of Lost Content, 2000), a work set to music by Philip Glass and Lama Gyurmes; an excerpt from MY HOME? (2015), a solo reflecting on immigration and the meaning of home; and an excerpt from Spring 101 (2019), which reimagines Baroque music through contemporary movement and sound design.

A special preview event will also take place at KYL/D’s CHI Movement Arts Center, offering audiences an open rehearsal and discussion with the artists.

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers has performed at major venues and festivals around the world, including Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Jacob’s Pillow, the Kimmel Center, and international festivals in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The company has received support from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and the William Penn Foundation.

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