The TNUA Library on October 20 unveiled the Yen-Lu Wong section named after the dancer, who now lives in the US. The section houses a collection of almost 1,000 items of books, periodicals, research works and videos donated by the dancer.
A ceremony was held to unveil the section. Participants in the ceremony included: TNUA President Prof. Ju, Tzong-ching; National Awards for Arts winner Prof. Nieh Guang-yan; Prof. Fred Chiu from Academia Sinica’s Institute of Ethnology; TNUA Vice President Prof. Chung-shiuan Chang; Prof. Heng Ping, dean of the School of Dance; and other school officials.
At the ceremony, Prof. Ju expressed the deepest gratitude to Prof. Wong, and lauded the dancer for her lifetime devotion to arts education and outstanding achievements.
Prof. Ju noted that he was most impressed by Prof. Wong’s stress on the importance of humanities learning in the training of dancers, as expressions from the inner self are more touching.
Prof. Ju said that more than 40 years ago Prof. Wong was already advocating the idea of integrating the traditional with the modern, and the East with the West, which is now the prevailing trend in the world of arts and serves as the foundation of TNUA.
He said he hopes the founding of the Yen-Lu Wong section in the Library will let the tradition be passed down through generations and inspire dancers’ creativity.
Prof. Wong said the modern dance in Taiwan owes it birth to Mr. Yu Ta-kang, whose encouragement motivated her to organize a modern dance festival in 1967. It was the first time that Martha Graham’s dance techniques had been introduced in Taiwan, and the strong influence on Taiwan’s modern dance can still be felt today.
Prof. Wong said the collection she donated to TNUA included not only dance-related items, but also books – including cooking recipes – that her father had given her when she left Taiwan to study dance in the US.