JUDY LIU

Chinese dance

Judy's interest in dance began at five years old under the instruction of Pao Ling Ling. She was previously the president of Jade, the Chinese dance club at Walter Payton College Prep. Along with Sabrina, they led their team to a platinum ranking at the Tao Li Cup Midwestern Regionals in the 2017-18 school year and to the gold ranking at Tao Li Cup in New York in 2019. Her time with Yin He exposed her to the various genres of Chinese dance and even ballet. Currently, she is a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She plans to have a career in the dental industry as well as continue to dance with Yin He. Judy is looking forward to doing great things with Yin He Dance.

LAUREN SHENG

Kpop

Starting at a young age, Lauren Sheng had an interest in dancing after watching a video full of Janet Jackson music videos. She tried many hobbies from ballet to ice skating, until she landed in a hip hop class at 11 years old. That's when she knew she was going to be committed to dancing in the long run.

Passionate, dynamic, and deeply immersed in the world of K-pop, Lauren Sheng is a dedicated dance instructor with 20 years of experience teaching and performing. With a background in hip hop and cheerleading, they specialize in breaking down intricate K-pop choreography, making it accessible and enjoyable for dancers of all levels. With Yin He Dance Center, she instructs a wide age range from 5 years old to beyond. She currently teaches pre-teens, teens, and adult K-Pop dance classes. She also led a group of young girls to dance with IU on her 2024 Chicago stop of the "HEREH" World Tour.

Beyond the studio, Lauren directs the K-Pop dance cover group, Knockout Dance Crew, and works full time as an event coordinator. She has also danced under Twisters Elite All-Star Cheer and Dance, Boom Crack Dance Company Summer Intensive, Chemical X, Prism Kru, 4Chu, and Elite Kontent Crew. Lauren hopes that dancing gives the same amount of joy to her students as it does to her.

Angela Tam

ballet, Chinese dance

Angela grew up as an extremely shy girl in Chicago Chinatown. As a kid, she barely spoke outside of home, but couldn’t shut up when things made her excited. One thing that has always excited her is dance! Her love for dance always shines through when she is teaching and her enthusiasm creates many fun, memorable moments for her students.

Angela began learning Chinese dance as a young girl from Qiuyue Jin. She later moved to New York City for school and work and continued learning Chinese dance from Margaret Yuen and Grant Zhuang. In 2015, she decided that there’s no place like home and returned to Chicago to found Yin He Dance. She has also studied ballet, contemporary, and modern dance.

Angela is a multi-year recipient of the Ethnic & Folk Arts Master Apprentice Grant from Illinois Arts Council Agency, most recently in 2024. She received her BA in East Asian Studies from New York University and holds a certificate in Arts and Culture Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania.

When not dancing, she likes to eat baked goods. To learn more about her and see pictures of her cat Billy, follow her on Instagram @isawastar.