Every job I take on is a way for me to learn more about dance, movement, and my relationship to them. Dance is truly the longest and most stable relationship I’ve ever had. She has been there for me during my highest of highs and my lowest of lows.
The dances I perform exist as companion spaces and as alternate universes that I can dwell in and move inside of to escape and project into imagined realms. They are constructed environments to explore visual images and my energetic presence, and to propose new ideas for the physical body.
It brings me back to the family parties at my house where you could feel the air shift with commitment, joy, and music, everyone singing with a full heart and sharing this finite time together. Dance always brings me home.
Early on, I learned to move between different cultural worlds by embracing one concerted language: dance. Movement became my primary, galvanizing mode of communication. Through dance I expressed how I perceive the world.
I’m currently in the Broadway cast of Bob Fosse’s DANCIN’, and getting to experience the role of The Poet/Spirit in “Mr. Bojangles” has been such a blessing for me. It’s a moment where I get to hold space and acknowledge the legacy of Black dancers that paved the way for my peers and me.
Being at San Francisco Ballet for more than 10 years has shown me that classical ballet isn’t just a physical activity; it is a language, a way of expression, and it connects people. Being the first Asian male principal dancer in the company’s history has allowed me to bring my culture into my work.
Tap dance is everything in one. It’s something that is ancient and of the future. It’s timeless.
I fell in love with dance and decided to devote every part of myself to becoming a dancer. My life changed, and so did my why. I wanted to be able to freestyle like the incredible club dancers.