Jennifer Brown

THE POWER OF 10

By Jennier Brown

Published in the Wisconsin State Journal October 14, 2007

 

It seems so easy for a decade to slip by before we’ve finished with it. No matter how many of our dreams we’ve accomplished or how much we’ve grown, even 10 years isn’t enough time to find everything we started out wanting.

In a way, there’s something hopeful about searching the depths of our limits and knowing we can always find more. It reminds us there’s life left to live. It’s how we find fulfillment.
 

Jin-Wen Yu is someone who can attest to that sentiment. Entering his 10th year in Madison, Yu is the chair of UW-Madison’s dance department and director and choreographer ofJin-Wen Yu Dance.

 

With more than 100 works under his belt and reaching local as well as international acclaim, Yu has strived to push himself to his full potential, always looking for the next step. As his Madison milestone is about to be celebrated in his upcoming concert, Yu has a lot to reflect about.

 

“I’ve been here 10 years, and that’s given me enough time to understand the life here. The more I’m into it, the more I feel excited. You know the situation better, and I feel I’m more in the bigger picture,” he says. “Madison’s provided me with a lot of opportunity and support, so I really appreciate that.”

 

In his upcoming show, “Concert 10,” Yu will showcase three of his old works and two new pieces in recognition of the past decade.

One of Yu’s biggest accomplishments in Madison was his piece “Which One is Pink,” a 45-minute seductive and haunting montage set to music from Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.” Originally, the piece premiered in Madison just four days after the 9/11 tragedy, adding to its poignancy.

 

“(With Pink), I felt a lot of emotion attached to it. There are a lot of questions about life people were asking. Around that time I was asking myself a lot of questions too. People weren’t ready to see art, but we felt they needed a more positive energy. That’s why we decided to have that concert. I think a lot of people didn’t see it because of that reason, so maybe they’ll catch up this time.”

 

Some of the premiere works in this concert also have sentimental aspect to them. In “Tracing,” Yu pulls from his Chinese heritage his hopes for the future.

 

“‘Tracing’ is influenced by Chinese calligraphy,” says Yu. “When you’re writing, you can see traces of the ink. When you’re looking back and looking forward, you see the traces as well.”

 

It only seems natural that as Yu looks back on the last 10 years, he would wonder about the next decade.

 

“I feel that 10 years are enough to look back, but I also want to think, “What else?” I certainly hope down to the bone in the next 10 years I still feel I’m an artist, that I still like to perform. As long as I’m expanding my life, I’m sure the creative impulse will still be there.”