dancing the night away

By Jim Callicott

No one knows for certain when dance became part of the human culture but it has been traced back for centuries and is known to have been a part of rituals, celebrations and entertainment as far back as 3300BC. Before languages were written, dance was one of the methods of passing stories down from generation to generation.

As music is addictive to musicians, dance has the same effect on performers, which leads some to turn to teaching when no longer performing. Such is the case of Kim McAbee and Ye Mao.

Kim has been involved in dancing for 28 years and is the owner/instructor of Premiere Dance Studio in Seymour. Originally from Greenwood, Mississippi, Kim moved here several years ago to be near her parents. She stopped dancing professionally and began teaching which led to her opening her own studio. She now has 9 employees and expanded to teach piano, voice and fiddle. In addition she has a musical theater with the goal of performing musical productions.

When extended an offer to meet another professional, Ye Mao, she, her husband Shane and two of her three children, Savannah and Ellie, paid a visit to Cirque de Chine in Sevierville. “It was an absolutely wonderful, professional production,” she said, “and Ye Mao’s touch is a plus for the show.”

Ye Mao’s mother would send the youngster to the theater to see musical productions and he would come home and act out the parts for her. His love for dance saw him moving 2,000 miles from his hometown of Chongqing to Beijing when he was 13 years old.

He spent 7 years studying at the world famous Beijing Dance Academy before dancing professionally with the National Ballet Company of China. He later moved to Canada and studied two years with the Royal Ballet Company of Canada. Ye Mao has performed around the world with stops in Denmark, Turkey, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and several other countries.

When he returned to Chongqing, Ye Mao felt his experience with dance would make a positive impact on the acrobatic troupe in his hometown. He approached the troupe leader with his idea and they agreed to an experiment and it worked fantastically with his chorography adding to the stimulation of the acrobatic performers.

Ye Mao will return to China when the season is over in December and plans to be married next year. However, he states that dancing is his life and he will continue his career of performing and chorography. It’s the addiction factor, just ask Kim McAbee.