Dr Yaxin Luo

Profile

PhD journey

I received my doctoral degree from the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds (2019-2023, passed with editorial corrections). My practice-led PhD project researches the interaction between interculture, feminism and intermediality in theatre adaptation, focusing on the intercultural issues raised for me (a Chinese writer and director) when composing a feminist adaptation of an episode from a Qing dynasty classic A Dream of Red Mansions (《红楼梦》）for contemporary UK audiences, with the body research exploring my original concept of the ‘feminist corpse’ as its core. This adaptation Blossoms of Her Selves（《她薾》）contextualises contemporary female issues, especially female independence, sufferings and relationships under the patriarchal system, which was firstly performed in February 2022 while breaking the on/off stage boundaries, and integrating the immersive effects of theatre, cinema and gallery. 

I am also an artist-researcher in the Wellcome-funded LivingBodiesObjects research project collaborating with National Sensory Theatre (Interplay), which involves experimentation with a range of technologies to produce new pieces of theatre, as well as explorations on evaluating audience experience, particularly for students with learning disabilities. 

Other key works 

• Stay Safe? （《安身》）— A Play Uncovering Racism Against the Chinese in the UK
• Mischief at Midnight (《半夜出来祸害人间》）
• Artistic practices with refugees and Holocaust Survivors with 6 million + Charitable Trust（such as The Weeping Sisters)
• 裂/Crying of Four Seasons (A creative/critical contemporary dance adapted from ancient Chinese poems; an unprecedented cross-cultural encounter in the name of the four seasons; an unmissable dialogue reflecting on today’s world and modern society)
• Cessair
• A New Friend – ROSE
• KARA: an Artificial Friend
• My works have been performed in places such as London, Dublin, Leeds, Edinburgh, Scarborough, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Wuhan...

Other Education

I graduated from the Wuhan University with a MA in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature (2018) and a BA in the Experimental Class of Humanities (2015). I also studied in the Korea University (2014) and the Fu Jen Catholic University (2017) as an exchange student focusing on media, literature, fashion, art study and practice.

Selected scholarships

• National Scholarship for University Students (China)
• Global KU Scholarship (South Korea)
• First Class of One Asia Foundation Scholarship for outstanding academic performance (Japan)

Selected awards

• First Prize of Chinese New Youth Fiction Competition
• National College Student Literal Work Contest (second prize × 2 + third prize)
• Gold Medal of National Calligraphy Competition
• Presenter with Outstanding Contributions to Cambridge China Education Forum 

Selected artistic platforms (I have collaborated with)

• Dublin Theatre Festival (Ireland) 
• Davis International Film Festival (USA)
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK)
• Big Ideas by the Sea (UK)
• Being Human Festival (UK)
• Beijing International Film Festival (China)
• Ying Ming Theatre (Germany)

Selected internships and work experience

• International Cooperation Centre of the National Development and Reform Commission
• China Central Television program
• Harper’s Bazaar
• Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
• University of Leeds
• LBO & National Sensory Theatre
• I have also interviewed more than 40 famous artists, designers, educators, entrepreneurs, politicians and scholars across the world, including the head of schools from Harvard University and Peking University, the winner of gold medal at the Venice Biennial, the head of national strategic centre, the winner of gold medal at the Salon du Carrousel du Louvre, the chairman of China international artists association... 

Selected conference talks/presentations

• Theatre as resistance: an East Asian artist-researcher’s experience against race and gender issues in the age of uncertainties. Doing Race and Gender as ESEA Scholars Conference. University of Cambridge, UK. 13 September, 2022.
• Contemporary, Collaboration and Community. Artist Forum. The 1^st International Symposium on Contemporary Asian Theatre. The University of Göttingen, Germany. 8 December, 2022.
• Theatre, Artificial Friend, and Students with Learning Disability. Critical: NNMHR Congress 2023 (the fifth annual congress of the Northern Network for Medical Humanities Research). NNMHR and the Institute for Medical Humanities, Durham University, UK. 19–21 April 2023.
• The influence of intermediality on body movement and dance video in a contemporary context. Forum of Beijing International Dance Video Festival (as part of Beijing International Film Festival). Beijing, China. 30 April 2023.
• Body as a binding tool in theatre practice-research. Talking Bodies 2023 (tenth anniversary gathering). Chester, UK. 12-16 June 2023.
• The dynamic relationship between self and research: develop your individuality into academic strength and artistic talent. TaPRA Symposium: Up Close and Personal. Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Barbican, UK. 22 June 2023.
• Bridging the gaps between China and the UK in terms of applying art and technology to special education. Cambridge China Education Forum – Home in the World: Reimagining Education in Pluralised Communities. University of Cambridge, UK. 15-17 July 2023. 

Columnist Experience (I have published 39 articles on different platforms)

• Harper’s Bazaar
• Finance Today 
• Principals’Senior Advisor 
• Some papers/articles in Art Life, Home of Drama, Daily Hubei, Children/Family/Society, Sohu Website... 

Research groups

• Digital Research Group
• Practice as Research Group
• Participation Research Group
• Pedagogic Research Group
• Policy and Leadership Research Group
• Place Research Group

Teaching

• (Session speaker) MA, Writing for Performance and Publication
• (PGR chaperone) MA, Culture, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship
• (Learning Support Officer) PG Cert, Fundraising & Philanthropy
• (Learning Support Officer) PG Cert, Arts Fundraising & Leadership
• (Seminars+Part lectures) BA, Exploring Performance: Cultures and Contexts
• (Seminars+Part lectures) BA, Performance Perspectives

Research interests

• intercultural study
• contemporary theatre
• feminism
• intermediality
• script writing/adaptation
• theatre directing
• body research
• disability

Qualifications

• PhD Performance and Cultural Industries
• MA Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature
• BA Humanities Sciences