Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers announced today that the company plans to sunset the dance company following their fall fundraiser and spring home season in March 2026.

After many seasons of creation, collaboration, and growth, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers has arrived at a time of necessary reflection. As family obligations within the company call for more care and presence, and alongside shifts in the cultural, political, and economic landscape, the weight of responsibilities has led the company to the decision to close the ensemble this upcoming Spring.

“This is not the end of dance. Not yours. Not ours. This is a transformation. We will close this chapter with power and integrity,” said founder/artistic director Kun-Yang Lin. “We know that you will bring your gifts and your best selves to this celebratory, fire-lit final season.”

Echo and Flame: Phoenix Awakening will close Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers’ home season on March 27 & 28, 2026 at the Mandell Theater at Drexel University, preceded by a celebratory benefit performance on November 8, 2025 at the Performance Garage.

ABOUT:

Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D) is one of the country’s premier contemporary Asian American professional dance companies, based in Philadelphia. Hailed for its superbly trained dancers and inventive choreography, the internationally active KYL/D probes at the limits of national identity. Drawing upon Eastern philosophies, while expanding the perimeter of contemporary dance, Founder & Artistic Director, Kun-Yang Lin's zen-inspired practice of dance manifests in lush works of poetic sensibility that The New York Times said "create and inhabit worlds of their own." Lin draws upon insights from his ongoing research throughout Asia, creating a personal movement language that is suffused with strong spiritual underpinnings. 

The KYL/D ensemble is trained in the company's unique CHI Awareness Practice that is deeply rooted in Asian art forms, contemplative practices and philosophies. The company has performed around the world, including at the Tanzmesse International Dance Festival (Dusseldorf), Busan International Dance Festival (Korea), Jogia International and AsiaTri festivals (Indonesia), Festival Internacional de Danza in Queretaro (Mexico), Victoria Theatre (Singapore), HsinChu Performing Arts Center (Taiwan).

In the U.S., KYL/D has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, Interlochen Festival, Columbia Festival, Kaatsbaan International Dance, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, Dancing in the Streets Festival, the Painted Bride Art Center, the Annenberg Center, the Kimmel Center, the Forrest Theater, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation, and Philadelphia's City Hall.

At KYL/D’s home, CHI Movement Arts Center (CHI MAC), the company offers classes for the community, subsidized space rental, and its signature presenting program, the Inhale Performance Series, which highlights the work of new and emerging artists.

KYL/D has been supported by numerous funders, including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Jerome Robbins Foundation, the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the William Penn Foundation, and a USArtists International grant from MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, as well as support from the U.S. Department of State.

For more information, please visit: www.kyld.org/.