Dai Ailian’s Founding of Chinese Modern Dance

Dai Ailian was born in Trinidad, emigrated to London, to Hong Kong, and then to Mainland China. Each relocation added inspiration for her decades-long development of Chinese modern dance. Dai’s early years in colonial Trinidad gave her a taste of a racially divided society organized hierarchically and rife with inequality. She experienced then acute results of similar racial hierarchies as an aspiring dancer in London in her twenties. In the run-up to World War II, Dai found herself in a position to contribute to benefits on behalf of China’s defense effort, and around the same time, she discovered and embraced her Chinese heritage. This process would lead to her interest in Chinese folk and ethnic dance, while also incorporating her intensive training in ballet. Dai’s cosmopolitan background uniquely positioned her to develop Chinese modern dance, and her career was shaped by international forces.