About – YYDC – YY Dance Company

YYDC is a NY-based non-profit contemporary dance company dedicated to the performance, producing and teaching of original choreographic works by founder and artistic director, Yue Yin. Over the past decade, Yin has refined and expanded an original movement vocabulary called FOCO Technique™, a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complexity and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. The overall vision for YYDC is to showcase this signature, diverse movement style in original, emotionally charged and culturally influential performances nationally and internationally. In addition YYDC:

- Creates original commissioned and repertory works for a wide range of companies and schools including Martha Graham Dance Company, Gibney Company, Philadelphia Ballet, Boston Ballet, BalletMet, Limon Dance Company, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Oregon Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, Whim W’him, Bruce Wood Dance, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs, New Dialect, Backhausdance and more

- Works with educational institutions such as Juilliard School of Dance, Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Purchase, Marymount, George Mason, Point Park, West Michigan and more

- Teaches regular classes in FoCo Technique™ to dancers and general public alike

- Cultivates a broader interest in contemporary dance by presenting artistically engaging, culturally and socially conscious works.

The company boasts international touring credit in Germany, Italy, Serbia as well as in the the US at BAM Fisher, New York Live Arts, Chelsea Factory, SummerStage, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Inside Out, New York International Fringe Festival, DanceNow [NYC] at Joe’s Pub, Joyce SoHo Theater, and more..

Yue Yin

Artistic Director • Choreographer • Creator of FoCo Technique™

Yue Yin is a choreographer, founder and artistic director of YY Dance Company and the creator of FoCo Technique™. She began her training in Chinese classical and folk dance in Shanghai, China at the prestigious Shanghai Dance Academy and completed her MFA in dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2008. In 2018, Yin founded YYDC, a non-profit contemporary dance company dedicated to the teaching, production and performance of her original choreographic work. Yin is the creator of her signature FoCo Technique™ which is a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complexity and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. Overall the form grows from Yin’s own blended international background and a deep appreciation for precision, contrast, fluidity and musicality.

Yue Yin was the recipient of the 2021 Harkness Promise Award. This prestigious award recognizes her innovation in choreography and education. She was the winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2015 International Commissioning Project, winner of the 2015 BalletX Choreographic Fellowship, and winner of Northwest Dance Project’s 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition in 2013. Yin’s work has been commissioned from acclaimed organizations such as Gibney Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, BalletMet, Boston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Limon Dance Company, Alberta Ballet, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Juilliard School for Dance, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Tisch School of The Arts, Princeton and more.

ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Grace Whitworth

Rehearsal Director • Stager

Grace was born near Cleveland, Ohio. She grew up dancing at The Fine Arts Association (FAA) and was honored to receive the Outstanding Senior Award with a scholarship to attend the conservatory of her choice. Grace attended Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA and earned a BA in Ballet and Jazz studies. She was a proud recipient of the Nicole Marie Falbo Memorial Scholarship. After graduating, Grace moved to Chicago, IL and danced on scholarship at Lou Conte Dance Studio, (home of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago). Grace moved to New York City in 2011 and began dancing for YYDC, LaneCoArts and ABARUKAS. During 9 years with YYDC, Grace has performed in the US and toured internationally to China and Germany. Grace is currently serving as dancer, rehearsal director, stager of Yin’s works as well as master teacher of FoCo Elements – a branch of FoCo Technique ™ that promotes improvisation within the guidelines of FoCo technique. In the past, Grace has assisted Yin in commissions for Bruce Wood Dance in Taxes, Alberta Ballet in Canada, Boston Dance Theater, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City to name a few. At the collegiate level, Grace assisted Yin during creation for Tisch NYU, Rutgers University, Barnard College, George Mason University and most rewardingly, her alma mater, Point Park University.

She performed with companies such as Winifred Haun and Dancers, Jaxon Movement Arts and Thodos Dance Chicago (New Dances). Grace performed in many festivals, most notably, Dance Chance (Eduardo Zuniga, former Luna Negra dancer), Dance Chance Redux (Autumn Eckman, former Hubbard Street Dance Chicago dancer), and grand-prize winner of The Joyce Soho A.W.A.R.D. Show under Jaxon Movement Arts, DanceNOW at Joe’s Pub, Dixon Place, IDACO, Offset Dance Fest, Pan-Asian Dance Festival, APAP at Peridance, 92nd Street Y and City Center, Kaatsbaan International Dance Festival, SummerStage, Jacob’s Pillow, FLICfest, Fringe Festival, Battery Dance Festival. Grace is enjoying the dance journey that YYDC has sourced for her.

Joseph C. Tedeschi – President, Co-Founder

Together with Yue Yin, Joseph is the co-founder of YYDC and serves as its President. When not working with Yin, who is also his wife, Joseph is a senior lawyer and strategic advisor with a focus on media, entertainment and the arts.

Joseph is also a member of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts NY, an organization that has provided pro bono legal services to the arts community for over 50 years.
Joseph graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude with a B.A. in History and Literature and earned his J.D. at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Elaine Mandelbaum – Board of Directors

Elaine H. Mandelbaum is General Counsel of Interactive Brokers LLC and Senior Vice President of IBG LLC, an automated global electronic broker-dealer. In her role, she is responsible for the global legal team of Interactive Brokers. Prior to that, Elaine worked for Citigroup for 21 years, most recently as Head of Litigation and Regulatory Investigations for Citi’s Institutional Clients Group (ICG). Prior to starting at Citigroup, Ms. Mandelbaum was a litigation attorney at the New York office of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, and previously at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

Elaine is the immediate past President of the SIFMA Compliance & Legal Society, and has served on the SIFMA C&L’s Executive Committee for over a decade. Elaine was previously Vice Chair of the FINRA National Adjudicatory Council, the appellate body for decisions rendered in FINRA disciplinary and membership proceedings. Elaine serves on the Board of Directors of the Legal Action Center and of the National Council of Jewish Women, and was the recipient of the 2015 “Woman Who Dared” Award from the NCJW.

Elaine is a frequent speaker at PLI, SIFMA and other industry conferences on topics relating to complex securities litigation, corporate governance, internal and regulatory investigations and issues relating to women in the securities industry. She is an honors graduate of Yale College and of Harvard Law School.

Shannon Bell – Board of Directors

Shannon Bell is a Managing Director at The Orogen Group, an operating company that makes significant long-term control and other strategic investments in financial services companies and related businesses. Ms. Bell has more than 20 years of experience in communications and has spent the majority of her career in financial services where she has developed expertise in reputation and crisis management, brand building and corporate communications. Ms. Bell started her career at APCO Associates, a global public affairs firm, where she built grassroots and grass tops campaigns for some of the country’s largest companies and trade associations. In 1997, she joined Standard & Poor’s, serving as a director of media relations for its debt ratings business. In 2000, Ms. Bell became director of public relations for Zurich Financial Services where she was responsible for directing Zurich’s corporate communications strategy in North America. She joined Citigroup in 2003 and ultimately became director of corporate communications and corporate spokesperson. At Citi, she was responsible for developing integrated communications strategies for corporate announcements including acquisitions and divestitures, capital planning, management changes and financial results. She received her B.A. from Emory University.

Banning Bouldin – Board Advisor

She was a soloist and rehearsal assistant during her tenure with Aszure Barton and Artists from 2003-2010. In 2007, she began to research her own contemporary technique practice—developing an improvisation and non-binary partnering syllabus, which she taught for two years at the Theatre de la Danse and Studio Harmonic (Paris, FR). During that same time, she joined fellow Juilliard-graduates Stephan Laks, Rachel Tess, Jermaine Spivey, Luis Rodriguez, and Isaac Spencer to form Rumpus Room Dance, based in Portland, Oregon, and Goteborg, Sweden. Together, from 2007-2010, they co-created and performed two evening length site-specific dance works and were nominated one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2010).

She has since been commissioned to create works for Visceral Dance Chicago, Springboard Danse Montréal, Northwest Dance Project (Portland), Whim W'Him (Seattle), SALT (Salt Lake City), Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts (Dallas), Groundworks Dance Theater (Cleveland), the Fine Arts Center (Greenville), the Juilliard School, Gibney Dance Company, Middle Tennessee State University, and New Dialect. She has also been featured in articles for Dance Magazine, The New York Times, Dance Teacher, and Dance Spirit.

Banning formed New Dialect in 2013, in response to Nashville’s need for a professional contemporary dance company and community-centered resource, that would allow dancers, teaching artists, and choreographers the opportunity to collaborate and contribute to the larger national dance ecology. Through her leadership of New Dialect and significant contributions to contemporary dance training, creation, and performances in the South, Banning has received several honors and awards, including a two-time nomination for the United States Artist Fellowship.

She is currently a research artist for the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron, where she is investigating new frameworks for supporting dance through NCCAkron’s Creative Administration Residency (CAR). Her essay detailing her experience starting a nonprofit dance organization, Causing a Scene: How I Helped Build the Contemporary Dance Ecosystem in My Hometown, will be published by the University of Akron Press in Spring 2024.