Dancer Hsueh Yu-hsien (薛喻鮮), director of Taiwan dance troupe Genio Dance Group (精靈幻舞舞團), will join the National Ballet of Spain (Ballet Nacional de España) in September, marking the first time that a Taiwanese had been selected to join the national team.
In May this year, Hsueh led the dance troupe to a win at the 31st Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreography Competition with the work "Eterno retorno (永恆的回歸)" which is part of "Carmen Bolero Inmortal (卡門波麗露不朽的)." She also received the female dancer award.
In an interview with Central News Agency, Hsueh described the feeling of being selected out of more than 200 participants was like “a dream,” stating that she was grateful to have the opportunity to compete fairly with other dancers. According to Hsueh, she previously faced challenges in applying for the audition as she did not have a Spain residence permit. She specially thanked the artistic director of the National Ballet of Spain for inviting her to take part in the audition and helped her with the application.
Hsueh began learning dance from her mother Ho Lien-hua (賀連華) when she was little and her dance journey began when she became the first dancer from Asia to be accepted into the Spanish Royal Conservatory of Dance Mariemma, majoring in Spanish classical dance. After her graduation in 2014, she returned to Taiwan and established the Genio Dance Group with her mother, hoping that through education, Spanish dance and culture can take root in Taiwan.
Besides performing, Hsueh hopes to learn the skills of managing a national dance team and further use that knowledge to manage the Genio Dance Group so as to add value to the troupe.
(Photo Credit: Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Spain, Genio Dance Group)