We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kiki YuChin Tseng. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kiki YuChin below.

Alright, Kiki YuChin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I have ever taken was moving to the US all by myself when I was 16 to pursue my dream as a professional dancer. It had been my dream to dance outside of home, see the world and put myself out there. However, my family and I were not ready for this to happen this early on. It was something that changed my life completely. There were lots and lots of obstacles and regrets along the way, but I am proud and happy of where and who I am now.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started dancing when I was 5 years old in a studio in Taiwan. Dance became a big part of my childhood and my life ever since. I kept training non-stop and decided to pursue a career in dance at around 12 or 13. At age 16, I participated in a ballet competition in Taiwan-Taiwan Grand Prix. I received a third place and a full year scholarship to study at the Harid Conservatory in FL. Later on, I was accepted into SUNY Purchase College and received a dual degree in Dance and Arts Management. After graduation, I joined the Martha Graham Second Company and I am now a full time company artist with the Nai Ni Chen Dance Company and Mason Lee Dance Theater. I am also a freelance performance Artists that do project-related works.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

When I talk to people who are not in the art field (which is most of my family), they don’t really understand why we do what we do and a lot of the times I struggled answering this question. It is an extremely difficult career. You don’t get a lot in return, you put in so much more than you could gain and there is no stability or guaranteed on anything. However, I could not imagine my life without dance. Dance has allowed me to be seen, it’s a tool that I could utilize to help me experience things outside of my comfort zone, such as , travel, meet people from all over the world… Dance has humbled me as a person because it’s constantly teaching me something, whether that’s dance or just life in general. And last but not least, it is a unique life that not everyone has the privilege to experience. My life is so different than all of my cousins and family friends, there is absolutely no good or bad in my opinion but I am grateful to be living this life at this very moment and I am proud of the accomplishment I have established for myself throughout the time.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think as an artist, we can all agree that having a steady financial support is wanted and needed among the industry. It’s getting so so much better nowadays and I am super grateful for the change for the better. However, there are many occasions still when I experience/hear the story of artists doing the work for free or not getting credited. Because our job is to make what we do look easy, a lot of people neglect the fact that us practicing our craft, putting up the productions/products, is time consuming and is work. It’s common knowledge “artists don’t make a living out of art” and although it is problematic, not a lot of people seem to acknowledge that it is something that needs to be changed, rather just stating a fact. It’s a super controversial topic and I myself has not yet come up with a perfect solution, but I think it would be super helpful as a start for people to start treating dance or art as an actual career, and recognize the work that it takes to deliver the work to the society. A small care goes a long way for us, because at the end of the day, we don’t do this for the money but when we see the joy that we bring out on the audience or the impact we have on the society that just makes everything so worth it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiki__tseng/

Image Credits
By Hisae Aihara By Jaqlin Medlock Photography