ABSTRACT
I was a member of the fifth graduating class of the Chinese Cultural University, the first college-level dance department established in Taiwan. At that time a typical entering class was approximately 60 students, of which about half would graduate. For my first three years at that school I was not thinking of becoming a dancer. Dance was not really thought of then as an art form, and there was no possibility of pursuing it as a professional career in Taiwan. Then, in my senior year, Lin Hwai-min came back from the United States, with his background in both dance and creative writing, and the first class he taught was mine, which ultimately produced four of the founding members of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. That is when I became seriously interested in dance training. Mr. Lin was dedicated to dance, and he made us believe that it could be a performing career.
