Youthful Ambition Eric Hang-Yu Liu – Choreographer, Ballet Dancer, and Fitness Instructor

Eric Hang-Yu Liu is a ballet dancer and choreographer whose work centers on the experience of the Asian diaspora. I photographed Eric on the High Line in New York City on the morning of July 20, 2021 — one of those early starts that photographers learn to love. The light was soft and low, the elevated park nearly empty of tourists, and Eric moved through the space with the kind of physical control that comes from a lifetime of training. It’s exactly the kind of shoot that Youthful Ambition, my series on athletes and performers, was built around: real discipline, captured in a real moment, without artifice.

Background and Training

Born in Vietnam, Eric Hang-Yu Liu immigrated to the United States with his family at the age of three and grew up in Los Angeles. He began studying ballet at six, drawn to its physicality and the sense of freedom it gave him. After training intensively through high school, he went on to study at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. Following graduation, he danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company for two years before founding his own company, EHYL Dance.

Finding a Voice Through Dance

As the child of immigrants, Eric often felt like he didn’t fully belong anywhere — until he found dance, and with it, a community of people who understood what it meant to feel like an outsider. That experience continues to shape his choreography, which explores themes of ancestral trauma, cultural displacement, and intergenerational memory.

The Weight of Darkness

His solo trilogy, The Weight of Darkness, is a direct exploration of these ideas, inspired by his own experience as a Vietnamese American. The work is emotionally wide-ranging — moving through pain, anger, and sadness alongside hope and moments of real joy — and physically demanding, as Eric explores what it means to carry inherited weight on one’s own shoulders.

Reflection

For Eric, the goal of the work is connection: he hopes audiences see themselves reflected in it, feel less alone in their own experiences, and recognize the power in telling one’s own story.

Eric Hang-Yu Liu seated on an outdoor staircase on the High Line, relaxed shirtless pose with arms resting on his knees, early morning light
A quiet moment between poses on the High Line's stairways.
Black and white portrait of Eric Hang-Yu Liu seated on a chair against a weathered wood building facade on the High Line
Shot in black and white to lean into the textures of the old wooden facade behind him.
Eric Hang-Yu Liu in a dynamic arabesque lean among tall grasses on the High Line, arms extended
The High Line's grasses added movement and texture even before he started moving.
Eric Hang-Yu Liu performing an extended standing leg kick, showcasing classical ballet technique, brick buildings behind, beautiful pointed toes
A moment of pure technique — years of ballet training on full display
Eric Hang-Yu Liu in a dramatic backbend over a US Mail mailbox on the High Line, demonstrating extreme flexibility
One of the more athletic, unexpected shots of the morning — using the street furniture itself as part of the composition.
Eric Hang-Yu Liu posing shirtless among wild rose bushes on the High Line, New York City skyline in the background
The High Line's wild plantings gave every frame a different backdrop, even a few steps apart
Eric Hang-Yu Liu in a side lunge pose along a railing on the High Line, modern glass architecture in the background
Contrasting his classical lines against the High Line's contemporary architecture.
Close-up portrait of Eric Hang-Yu Liu looking upward, dramatic natural light, New York City skyline behind
A quieter, more intimate frame between the more athletic shots
Eric Hang-Yu Liu seated in a wide straddle stretch on the grass of the High Line, wearing a white leotard, city buildings in the background"
Closing out the shoot with a simple, grounded pose after an hour of dynamic movement.
Back to Top
Close Zoom
Please use the contact form to inquire about image use.