Dancing the possible: An extended review of Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers in Faith Project/The Door

In March 2018, the Philadelphia-based Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D) performed Faith Project/The Door, an hour-long concert dance that taps a long-flowing stream of the American modern dance tradition: its critical, constructive engagement with questions concerning religion. In this piece, artistic director Lin explores the ways in which contemporary modern dance can serve as a resource for promoting mutual understanding among persons who hold different religious beliefs. In both the choreographic process and premiere performances of Faith Project/The Door, Lin draws upon his own CHI Awareness Practice to help his dance artists understand and enact their own as well as other people’s heart-opening commitment to religious belief and ritual – that is, their faith. This article describes the generative ideas, creative process, and final performances of Faith Project/The Door to demonstrate how modern dance may help bring forth a world in which humans communicate respectfully across religious differences.