Biography
- MFA, dance, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
- BFA, choreography, Beijing Dance Academy, China
Xiang Xu joined the Boyer College as an assistant professor of dance in 2022. He is an international choreographer, dance educator and dancer based in Philadelphia and New York City.
Xu trained at one of China’s most prestigious dance institutions, the Beijing Dance Academy, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and won numerous awards, including the “Gold Lion” top prize at the Singapore World Music & Dance Competition as well as a national grant to choreograph the premiere of the epic work The Soul of Water performed in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. His choreography has been highly recognized for discovering new Asian bodily aesthetics as a new definition in contemporary dance.
In 2015, Xu established Xiang Xu Dance, and he has collaborated with the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Merce Cunningham Trust, Palestinian Diyar Theater, The Joffrey Academy of Dance, J Chen Project, James Madison University, Townson University and Cambodian National Arts Center. His academic book Exploration of the Foot-Binding in Chinese Classical Dance has been published in both Chinese and English language editions. The Joffrey Academy of Dance selected him to premiere his latest work at its 9th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition in March 2019. He has performed as a solo or featured dancer at UCLA Royce Hall, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, the Jewish Community Center Manhattan and the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens, New York.
Xu performs both contemporary and traditional classical Chinese dance styles, and has also studied and performed Thai, Indian and West African dances. He incorporates traditional Asian movement aesthetics into his contemporary choreography and sees dance as a physical form of philosophy.