A dance that lets flowers bloom in your body

Lin Xiuwei. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Her own dance

"My first dance was finished in silence, with no background music," smiled Lin.

She said she had listened to too much music and tried too many forms of dance. She was too restricted by all the head knowledge she had.

There was no space left for her to feel the world.

And she wanted to make herself attune to nature's inspiration, in the sound of water and wind.

She intended to use her body to express the natural world, including both the very huge things and extremely small things in nature.

Then she created her own dance, a dance of body, soul and mind.

It is a very natural expression, which breaks the rules and frames of dance.

"Who said you must lift you leg to this height to convey something in your dance? If you are a professional dancer, you could use an elaborated manner to show; but if you know nothing about dance, you can still lift your leg and use your body to express your feeling. There are no rules in my dance," said Lin.

Lin's dance later became a way to relax for those who have no formal training in dance. Lin led people to release their repressed emotions through dancing.

Many people wept and cried when they danced with Lin, but after that, they became rejuvenated. Her dance isn’t so much a performance as a way to communicate with someone's inner feelings.

Lin established her own dance group Tai Gu Ta Dance Theatre in 1987, which focuses on the dance of body, mind and soul.

In August, she will come to Beijing to give five lectures on her dance. The lectures include dances with wind, water, flowers, animals and the universe. She intends to teach people to use her dances to relax, heal and detoxify.

"You should treat your body as a garden and let flowers bloom in it through dancing," smiled Lin.