Board and Trustees
We are a nonprofit organization with a strong international presence. Our board members have established close relationships with arts organizations, universities, cultural institutions, and community partners across multiple countries, and include a diverse group of professionals such as artists, curators, and business leaders.
Miaotian Sun
Founder
Passionate about bridging cultural traditions with modern artistic expression, Miaotian leverages her extensive experience in the performing arts to nurture early-career talent and build sustainable artistic careers. With a rich background as a choreographer and dancer, she also founded the New York City Chinese Dance Company (NYCCDC), a sub group under QIAA and a platform that showcases Chinese dance and honors cultural heritage in a contemporary context.
With over 20 years of training in classical Chinese dance & folk dance and seven years’ experience of contemporary dance, she collaborated with choreographers from XieXin Dance Theatre, Suzanne Dellal Center, and cooperated with many New York City based choreographers. Through QIAA and NYCCDC, she has spearheaded initiatives to support emerging artists, promote cultural education, and foster cross-cultural exchange. Passionate about preserving traditional culture and inspiring the next generation of talent, as a devoted cultural communicator, Miaotian aiming to facilitate cultural exchange between East and West through dance. She was also featured in press including Woman Around Town, Women's Journal, and NewsBreak.
Valkyrie Yao
Board Member
Valkyrie Yao is a multidisciplinary artist, scholar, and educator working across movement, installation, and moving image. Steeped in ancestral philosophy, psychology, and posthuman inquiry, Yao's work dissects humanity, reimagines the body as a site of metaphor and cultivation, and proposes aesthetic languages that decenter anthropocentric worldviews.
Yao’s choreographic and directorial works have been presented at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, Gibney, Dixon Place, The Tank NYC, the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Her film Insert Coin to Play was an official selection of the Beijing International Film Festival and received the New Youth Feature Film Award, Best Dance Video Art Film at The Way Dance Video Art Exhibition, and the Special Jury / 2nd Grand Prize at Compagnie des Oeillets MATUVU Paris. Residencies include the MATCH Residency at the Los Angeles Dance Festival and the Choreographers’ Institute with McKoy Dance Project. Previous work has been presented at National Sawdust, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and the XV Florence Biennale.
Yao’s research recognitions include a nomination for NDEO’s Outstanding Dance Education Researcher Award, the China Scholarship Council National Scholarship, and an Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowship with Ballet Arizona. She is also a member of CID–UNESCO.
Artist Board
Working artists who advise from within the field. They bring lived practice into our decisions, help QIAA stay artist-centered and culturally grounded, and ensure our programs reflect real needs in the studio, on stage, and in communities.
Team Member
The people who carry QIAA’s work into action. We produce programs, build partnerships, support artists and audiences, and keep day to day operations moving with care, clarity, and accountability.
