Meet Hanna Tzong-Han Wu | Dancer & Choreographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hanna Tzong-Han Wu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hanna Tzong-Han, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I see risk taking as offering yourself opportunities. Go and risk so far so you know how far you can go. I took my risk 7 years ago moving to the US at 17 without knowing how to speak proper English – It was the best decision I’ve ever made. Have all the courage to be ready to fail and explore the unfamiliar worlds, in life and in arts.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I love creating works that reflect on humanity and the current world. I believe that arts are society’s reflection, and aim to continue to expand my vision and lenses on the intertwinement between arts, culture, society, human and self, through the infinite possibilities in movement, to shed light on universal matters. Growing up in Taiwan and now living in LA, seeing both blessings and disasters taking place constantly around the world, still, art remains powerful. Movements without words remains impactful. And I believe what I do makes a difference.

As much as the journey could be challenging, it somehow gets easier when you focus, and refocus on your main task, i.e. your bigger picture- what’s the purpose of doing what you do? Focus on only that, every other distractions and disturbance wouldn’t matter as much. For me it’s all about focus.

As a curious artist who invite personal journey and stories into arts, I allow the multiple cultural influences shape my movements, and present multiple languages speaking simultaneously within my creation. I do crossover with neighboring fields such as poetry, technology, film and more to deliver important messages through an even broader lens to reach more audience who need to hear these messages; I enjoy playing around with styles between street dance and contemporary, especially, to spark conversations in my movement invention. Th art I make and myself, we are multicultural in creative lenses, multi-disciplinary in effort, and multilingual in movement. I look for, and always will look for opportunities to connect to the world and the people in it: tell stories and be an agent of encountering differences, contributing access to new experiences, and exchanging subjectivities with people through the connection of dance.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I recommend Griffith Observatory for an overlook of both LA city and the famous Hollywood sign with the beautiful California sunset. I’d also recommend the pasta from Bacari W. 3rd, Leo’s taco truck, as well as Pine and Crane for Taiwanese food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I shout out to Liz Hoefner Adamis. Liz is an inspiring mentor and choreographer who mentored me when I first moved to California and guided me to find my own voice and recognize my own artistry. When I didn’t believe in myself, she did. And I believed her believing in me. I admire Liz as an artist and as a person. I’m beyond blessed to have her being a part of my dance story.

Website: https://www.hannatzonghanwu.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tzonghanwu/

Image Credits
Rafael Hernandez, Jing Wen Lan.