Yue Yin

Yue Yin is a choreographer, founder, and artistic director of YY Dance Company and the creator of FOCO TECHNIQUE™. She began her training in Chinese classical and folk dance at the prestigious Shanghai Dance Academy in Shanghai, China; continued contemporary dance study at Shanghai Normal University; and completed her MFA in dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2008. In 2018, Yin founded YYDC, a nonprofit contemporary dance company dedicated to the teaching, production, and performance of her original choreographic work. Under her direction, the company has recently been presented as part of the Women Move the World season at 92NY. The company has also performed at New York Live Arts, Chelsea Factory, and BAM Fisher. The company has toured to international venues including Schrittmacher Festival in Germany (multiple appearances); Belgrade Dance Festival in Serbia; Oriente Occidente in Rovereto, Italy; Orsolina28 Creative residency in Moncalvo, Italy; Florence Dance Festival, Italy; and theaters in Modena, Verona and Padova, Italy. In 2026, YYDC will embark on their first domestic tour to Ohio with Mutual Dance and DANCECleveland.

Yin’s signature FOCO TECHNIQUE™ is a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complex and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. The form grows from Yin’s own blended international background and a deep appreciation for precision, contrast, fluidity, and musicality.

Yue Yin was the recipient of the 2025 NYSCA/NAFA Artist Fellow in Choreography. In 2021, she received the Harkness Promise Award in recognition of her innovation in choreography and education. In 2015, she was the winner of the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago International Commissioning Project, winner of the BalletX Choreographic Fellowship, and an emerging choreographer at Springboard Danse Montreal. In 2013, she was the winner of Northwest Dance Project’s 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition. Yue’s work has been commissioned by acclaimed organizations including Gibney Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theatre, NW Dance Project, BalletMet, Boston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Limón Dance Company, Alberta Ballet, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, The Juilliard School, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Tisch School of The Arts, and Princeton University.

About YYDC

YYDC is a New York-based nonprofit contemporary dance company dedicated to the performance, producing, and teaching of original choreographic works by founder and artistic director Yue Yin. Over the past decade, Yin has refined and expanded an original movement vocabulary called FoCo Technique™, a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complexity and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. In 2024, Yue Yin officially promoted two of her long-time collaborators, Grace Whitworth and Nat Wilson, to be the first two certified FOCO TECHNIQUE™ instructors in the world as part of a dedicated group effort to share, promote, and present this cultural expression to a young generation of dancers. The overall vision for YYDC is to showcase this signature, diverse movement style in original, emotionally charged, and culturally influential performances nationally and internationally. In addition, YYDC:

• Creates original commissions and repertory works for a wide range of companies and schools, including Martha Graham Dance Company, Gibney Company, Philadelphia Ballet, Boston Ballet, BalletMet, Limón Dance Company, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Oregon Ballet Theatre, NW Dance Project, Whim W’him, Bruce Wood Dance, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs, New Dialect, and Backhausdance.
• Works with educational institutions including The Juilliard School, Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton University, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Purchase College, Marymount Manhattan College, George Mason University, Point Park College, and Western Michigan University.
• Teaches regular classes in FOCO TECHNIQUE™ to dancers and the general public alike.
• Cultivates a broader interest in contemporary dance by presenting artistically engaging, culturally- and socially-conscious works.

YYDC has recently been presented as part of the Women Move the World season at 92NY. The company has also performed at New York Live Arts, Chelsea Factory, and BAM Fisher. The company has toured to international venues including Schrittmacher Festival in Germany (multiple appearances); Belgrade Dance Festival in Serbia; Oriente Occidente in Rovereto, Italy; Orsolina28 Creative residency in Moncalvo, Italy; Florence Dance Festival, Italy; and theaters in Modena, Verona and Padova, Italy. In 2026, YYDC will embark on their first domestic tour to Ohio with Mutual Dance and DANCECleveland.

FOCO TECHNIQUE™

FOCO TECHNIQUE™ is an original and evolving dance vocabulary created by choreographer and artistic director of YYDC, Yue Yin. Echoing her choreographic voice, FOCO TECHNIQUE™ is a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complex and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. The form grows from Yin’s own blended international background and a deep appreciation for precision, contrast, fluidity, and musicality.

FOCO TECHNIQUE™ training offers Yin the tools to communicate her choreographic vision and desired movement qualities, as well as to provide relevant cultural knowledge to her dancers. The technique offers dancers the tools to understand Yin’s creative process, the source of her inspiration, and enables them to expand the boundaries of their own movement practices.

FOCO TECHNIQUE™ teaching is conducted in a follow-along method, and the movement is closely aligned with the music. The instructor demonstrates sequences of movement based on the principles of FOCO following a three stage structure:

• Activating - establishing the connections between mind and body.  
• Rooting - finding footing and building stability.
• Mapping - understanding the transitions and pathways of movement phrases.

This streamlined method provides a scaffolding for developing precision, strength, stamina, and ability that promotes controlled, textured, and nuanced movement qualities.

FOCO TECHNIQUE™ classes are offered in-person to professional and advanced movement practitioners and dance students.

FOCO X ONE

For the general public, Yin created the FOCO X ONE class adapted from FOCO TECHNIQUE™. The class does not require a dance background. The FOCO X ONE class is conducted in a follow-along method following a three stage structure: Activating — establishing the connections between mind and body; Rooting — finding footing and building grounded sensation; and Mapping — recognizing the transitions and pathways of movement sequences. FOCO X ONE class is a unique approach to movement practice and fitness that explores the essential principles of FOCO Technique™, including resistance, flow, groundedness, dynamics, and musicality. The class encourages participants to experience the joy of expression through accessible movement forms. A cumulative movement sequence will follow the final stage in each FOCO X ONE class.