Professor Liu Youlan’s life was about song and dance. She began her dance career at the age of 11 when an army song and dance troupe captivated her with their performances. She loved the dances so much that when the group left her hometown she followed them without telling her parents. After that initial leap into dance, Professor Liu became a member of the Beijing Dance Academy’s first class of students in 1954. Upon graduation from the Academy, Professor Liu became an instructor, a performer of minority nationalities’ dances and began building a career as a renowned specialist in ethnic folk dances with extensive field research in remote areas of China. Among the cultures and dance traditions that she studied and documented are Mongolian, Tibetan and Uygur, as well as Han folk dances from such different regions as Anhui Huagudeng, Yunnan Huadeng and Dongbei Yangge. While on the faculty of the Beijing Dance the Academy, Professor Liu was a visiting scholar in India and North Korea where she expanded her studies of dance. In 1985, Professor Liu was invited to be a guest instructor at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In 1989 to help celebrate the Chinese Bicentennial in Hawai’i, Professor Liu was invited to teach Chinese dance by the University of Hawai’i. She taught folk dance performance classes and gave lectures on various topics of Chinese dance. Her teachings at the University inspired students to form the Phoenix Dance Chamber (PDC), an affiliate of the Hawaii Foundation for Chinese Culture and Arts (HFCCA). The HFCCA co-sponsored an extension of Professor Liu’s Hawai’i stay, and in the spring of 1990 she continued to teach at the University as well as for the PDC. She was invited to return in 1991, 1992, 1995, 2005 and 2007 to teach PDC students and to assist with developing a Chinese dance curriculum in Hawai’i for students from 5 years through adulthood. From 1996-2003, Professor Liu expanded her professional career when she served as Director of the Chinese Dance Stream for the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. During that time she traveled with her students to various countries including Japan, Belgium, France and Holland to share Chinese dance through performances and classes. The exposure in Europe gave her notable recognition as a choreographer that led to invitations to choreograph for different dance companies. In 2003, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, under her direction, presented “Warriors of Qin,” a well-received dance concert held at the Hawaii Theatre Center. A Ka Leo O Hawaii article dated September 21, 1989, noted that Professor Liu “hopes her residency in Hawaii will become part of a greater cultural exchange between the East and West and hopes, to reopen the door between China and the United States.” Since her initial visit in 1989, Professor Liu has indeed inspired several generations of students in Hawai’i to strive for excellence and through their love of dance perpetuate her rich legacy. Awards: Professor
Liu has received numerous Taoli Cup Competition Awards in China. |