TING-YU XIE
ARTIST PORTFOLIO

A woman with dark hair styled in a low bun, wearing a light-colored dress with pearl-like embellishments on the shoulder, is sitting with her head tilted down and eyes closed. There are white flowers in the foreground and a set of green vases on a tray in front of her. The background is plain with soft lighting creating shadowed areas.

Biography

Five dancers performing a choreographed pose on stage, sitting on the floor with arms extended and hands forming a specific gesture, illuminated against a dark background.

Murmurs of Mural

Three women are sitting close together in an emotional moment. The woman in the foreground with long dark hair is touching her head and appears upset. The woman on the right has curly hair and is looking down, also appearing emotional. The woman in the background is wearing a pink dress and is looking at the two women.

Three Hours Radius

A person lying on their back on the floor with arms raised and legs bent, in a dance studio with a large window and white walls.

Escape

Diverse group of women in blue and white costumes participating in a theatrical or dance performance on stage, with some kneeling and others standing, holding hands and performing choreographed movements.

Ruach

A woman with black hair, flowers in her hair, and wearing a light-colored dress kneeling on a wooden surface, raising one arm gracefully with flowers and twisted branches nearby.

@ting.yu.xie | @Choreography

Performance Gallery

Move with Me

Ting-Yu Xie is a Columbus-based choreographer, performer, and dance educator whose work brings Chinese cultural aesthetics into conversation with contemporary movement. Her choreography explores heritage, memory, spirituality, motherhood, and women’s lived experiences through physically expressive and emotionally resonant storytelling.

A contemporary dancer in black clothing performing on a dark stage, with her left arm extended upward and her head resting on the floor, seen through a metal structure or frame.

Xie holds an MFA in Dance from Case Western Reserve University and a B.S. in Physics from Southeast University in China. Trained across Chinese dance, ballet, jazz, modern, and contemporary forms, she has performed works by Pam Tanowitz, Larry Keigwin, Gary Galbraith, and Karen Potter. She has taught at Case Western Reserve University and studios across Cleveland, Columbus, and Seattle.

Her recent works include Escape, Ruach, Invisible Walls, Three Hours Radius, and Murmurs of Mural, an ensemble project inspired by the ancient Dunhuang murals. Her choreography has been presented at the OhioDance Festival, Kentucky Dance Festival, Ballet Legato’s ROOTS Choreographer Showcase, New Albany Dance Festival, and Dancing in Summer, the Festival!

A woman lying on her side, wearing a red dress, holding a bouquet of red roses, against a black background.

Xie is the founder of TINGMOTION Dance & Wellness, where she develops new artistic work and builds community through movement.

Murmurs of Mural

Murmurs of Mural is an ongoing choreographic research and performance work inspired by the visual and spiritual language of the Dunhuang murals along the Silk Road, a network of ancient trade routes connecting civilizations across Eurasia.

A dance performance with five women lying on the stage floor in matching red tank tops and black pants, with stage lights overhead creating a colorful lighting effect.
Five female dancers in coordinated poses on a dark stage, wearing matching rust-colored tops and black pants, with arms extended in graceful positions.
A group of six female dancers in burgundy tops and black skirts performing a synchronized dance on stage, kneeling with arms extended and fingers forming circles, with black background and stage lighting.

PRESENTATIONS

OhioDance Festival
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, May 2026

KentuckyDance Festival
Actors Theater, Louisville, KY, March 2026

ROOTS Ballet Legato Choreography Showcase
Near West Theater, Cleveland, OH, March 2026

Dancing in Summer, the Festival!
Riverside Arts Center, Ann Arbor, MI, June 2026

Dancers:
Tingyu Xie, Ziyue Wei, Xiling Zou, Ningyu Wang, Luna Wang

Photo Credit: 2026 OhioDance Festival photo by Jess Cavender

Five female dancers performing on a dimly lit stage with colorful reflections, wearing red tops and black pants.
Group of five dancers performing on stage with black background, wearing red tops and black pants, in various poses with arms raised and extended.
Five dancers practicing ballet on stage with colorful lighting, wearing red tank tops and black pants.
Four female dancers perform on stage with colored lighting, wearing red tops and black pants, against a dark background.
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Three Hours Radius

Three Hours Radius is a contemporary solo that gives voice to mothers who have experienced the isolating and often unseen darkness of the postpartum period. Inspired by the relentless three-hour cycle of feeding, pumping, washing bottles, and soothing a newborn, the work explores how a mother’s time, body, freedom, and sense of self can become fragmented by caregiving.

A woman in a red dress performs a balancing act on a small platform inside a modern, wood-paneled room with an audience seated around her.

Photo Credit: Jerri Shafer

PRESENTATIONS

New Albany Dance Festival Ten Tiny Dances
Charleen& Charles Hinson Amphitheater,
New Albany, OH, July 2026

PULSE EXPRESSION VOL I
by InPulse Dance Co.
Columbus Performing Arts Center, Columbus, OH, October 2026

A woman in a red dress performing a dance move on a small stage outdoors with an audience seated around her, in a pavilion with wooden beams and a park in the background.
A woman in a red dress lying on her back on a stage, performing a dance move with her legs extended and arms reaching upward, while an audience of diverse adults watches attentively.
A woman in a red dress performing on a small stage at an outdoor event, surrounded by seated audience members.

Escape

Escape is a contemporary solo dance work that traces the human impulse to break free. The piece moves between confinement and release, body and breath, memory and motion. Rooted in a practice that bridges physics, choreography, and cross-cultural identity, Escape approaches movement as both equation and emotion - a search for freedom that unfolds through suspension, gravity, and momentum.

A woman performing a yoga pose on a dark stage, with her body forming a bridge shape and her head tilted back. Her reflection is visible on the shiny floor.
A woman performing a handstand in a dance or gymnastic pose on a reflective surface with a shadowy background.

PRESENTATIONS

VITALITAS Thesis Concert
Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, OH, March 2022

1st Cleveland Choreography Collaborative Showcase
Pivot Center of Art, Dance&Expression,
Cleveland, OH, June 2023

Photo Credit: Brad Petot, Cameron Perry

A woman lying on the floor inside a metal frame structure, with her head resting on the ground, and her arms extended upward, grasping the frame.
A woman with dark hair in a black outfit is lying on her side on a dark stage, surrounded by metal scaffolding. She is looking to the side with a contemplative expression.
  • A woman in black sportswear performing a yoga pose in a spacious gym or dance studio with a concrete wall and metal garage door in the background.
  • A woman wearing a white shirt and black shorts is lying on the floor in a crawling position with her face very close to the ground, appearing focused or intense.
  • A woman with dark hair in a ponytail sitting on the floor with her back to the camera, wearing a white shirt and black pants, in a minimalist room with white walls.
  • A woman with short dark hair and wearing a black sleeveless top, holding a crumpled white garment or cloth, standing in a bright room with a large window with black frame on the right.
  • A woman practicing handstand yoga in a bright room with large windows

Ruach

Ruach - the Hebrew word for “breath” and “spirit”—is an ensemble work tracing one figure’s spiritual awakening. Initially unaware of a higher presence surrounding her, she gradually transforms, recognizing and merging with the spirits. In the final image, they become her pathway, guiding and supporting each step forward.

A group of dancers performing on stage, with a woman in a black and white costume being lifted by the others, set against a dark blue background.

PRESENTATIONS

VITALITAS Thesis Concert
Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, OH, March 2022

Dances:
El-Drick Aboagye, Shadrach Arthur, Naiya Byrne, Haiyan Chen, Mikayla Heinrich-Wong, Joel K. Linebach, Lucia Mancha, N’dea Price, Lauren Robinson

Photo Credit: Brad Petot

A ballet dancer performs on stage with her arms extended and focused expression, surrounded by dancers in blue costumes lying on the floor with their arms and legs extended.
Group of dancers performing a dance routine on stage, bending forward with hands on the floor, wearing blue skirts and white tops.
Dance performance with multiple dancers in flowing costumes on stage
A group of dancers performing on stage, with one female dancer in the foreground wearing a white outfit and braids, holding or covering her face, while others are blurred in the background against a dark stage
Group of dancers in blue costumes kneeling on stage with their hands extended forward in a theatrical performance.