Yin Yue Dance Company presents gorgeous new work at 92nd St. Y and online (photo by Richard Termine)
Who: Yin Yue Dance Company
What: Streaming performance and discussion
Where: 92Y online
When: November 19-21, $15
Why: Yin Yue Dance Company’s Ripple is one of the most gorgeous works I’ve seen during the pandemic — from the comfort of my apartment, where I’ve watched hundreds over the last twenty months. The thirty-six-minute piece was filmed live in front of an audience on November 18 at Kaufmann Concert Hall as part of the 92nd St. Y’s Mainstage Series. The world premiere, featuring Kristalyn Gill, Jordan Lang, Grace Whitworth, Nat Wilson, and Yin Yue performing on a dark stage, was essentially developed over the previous five days, and the company didn’t even meet in person in full until the dress rehearsal on the day of the show, when Yin was still finalizing the choreography.
Yin Yue leads her company in streaming performance (photo by Paul B. Goode)
You wouldn’t know it from how beautifully the work flows from one section to the next, highlighted by a dramatic solo by Yin, confined to an oval spotlight, her arms alternately reaching out and cradling herself. The music ranges from romantically cinematic to a pulsating electronic score, along with some spoken text, as the dancers form duets and trios, coming together for several emotional passages, bathed occasionally in blue, then red. If you’ve been reluctant to watch dance onscreen, Ripple is a great place to start. The performance is followed by a discussion with the dancers moderated by Harkness director Taryn Kaschock Russell.
On December 6, Yin (A Trace of Inevitability, A Glimpse Inside a Shared Story) will be at the Guggenheim to receive the Harkness Promise Award along with Alethea Pace at the sixty-fourth annual 2021 Dance Magazine Awards, which will be livestreamed. The Mainstage Series continues December 16–19 with Michelle Dorrance and Dormeshia with special guests, February 24–27 with Baye & Asa and Passion Fruit Dance Company, and March 3–6 with Caleb Teicher and Conrad Tao.