ABOUT JIA WU

Jia Wu

As Heraclitus observed, the only constant in life is change—a view mirrored in Zen beliefs about evolution as a path to enlightenment. This guides Jia Wu’s work as an artist and educator, grounded in continuous learning and active engagement with the world. Fueled by curiosity and self-awareness, she explores new ideas, creates innovative works, and shares insights with students and peers. This cycle of creation and feedback drives her growth and connects her with fellow artists who inspire and challenge her. Through movement, research, and education, she seeks to leave a lasting cultural mark and inspire future creative thinkers.

Roots & Training

Born and raised in China, Jia Wu began performing as a principal dancer at five and a half, touring with a local troupe specializing in regional folk and ethnic forms. She received rigorous, master-level training at the Beijing Dance Academy across Chinese classical, folk, and ethnic traditions—studying both male and female styles—and later graduated from UCLA. Over time, she evolved from a voice shaped by collective ideology into one that is strong, independent, and deeply personal.

Artistic Practice & Themes

Jia Wu channels Chinese classical and ethnic dance vocabularies into bold, thought-provoking works that explore womanhood, feminism, gender dynamics, patriarchy, and immigrant identity. She integrates embodied knowledge with life reflections, memories, fantasies, and questions to craft dozens of pieces that chart her ongoing inquiry into identity and belonging.

Methods & Media

Her practice weaves ritual, movement, interactive media, and community engagement into immersive, site-responsive performances and installations. Drawing on Chinese classical and ethnic dance, Zen and Tai Chi practices, personal history, and ancestral memory, she layers movement, sound, image, and participatory ritual to create multisensory experiences. Emphasizing the mythical, contemplative, and transformative, she forges new connections between body and land, tradition and technology, memory and identity.

Reach, Recognition & Commissions

Jia Wu’s creations have earned national and international awards and have been presented across four continents and more than a dozen countries, including the National Asian American Theater Festival (USA), Pina Bausch NRW International Dance Festival (Germany), San Francisco International Arts Festival (USA), the International Meeting on Research in Dance (Mexico), and Shanghai International Arts Festival (China). She has been commissioned by the Suzhou Ballet Theatre to create full-evening contemporary ballet productions.