Sharat Lin

My name is Sharat Lin. I am perhaps best known in the community for being a passionate activist for social justice and performing the Dance of Peace in festivals, parades, protest rallies and marches, farmers' markets, museums, art galleries, and community events. Many may recognize me as the dancer with the butterfly wings. But my main lifelong preoccupation has been as a researcher, writer, and lecturer on global political economy, social movements, labor migration, and public health. If I had to pick a single word to describe my greatest passion, it would be "discovery" -- discovery of remote places, hidden histories, connecting the dots, whole new subjects, and discovery of self. My most recent milestone is to become a yoga teacher.

What does "liberation" mean to you?

For me liberation is the freedom to express my inner passions through any and all means -- movement, art, writing, activism. At the first instance, I found dance to be liberating because it opened up a whole new world of being, movement, dressing, androgyny, and being in the public eye while spreading joy, love, and peace throughout the community. I have chosen to use the monarch butterfly wings in the Dance of Peace because they are multi-faceted metaphors for freedom of expression, freedom of migration, kindness, metamorphosis of the self through openness to discovery, and transformation into the society we want to be. Taking dance to the next level, I have experimented with various forms of aerial dance, taking movement liberation to a new level. It is harder to synchronize to music, but can be absolutely exhilarating!

Is your creative practice one of liberation?

My creative practice is absolutely a practice of liberation because there are no limits to new movements. There are always new ways of interpreting music into movement. There are always yet-to-be-discovered expressions of music, social justice, and our deepest passions. It is infinitely satisfying!

How can art be a tool in the revolution?

Art, including movement arts, translate social issues and activism into visual spectacles that further empassion activism. Art, with or without explicit social messages, is empowering and imparts political and social culture to an otherwise sterile urban landscape. For example, a Dance of Peace on a busy street corner is always a surprise and source of delight for all those who pass by, and a source of contemplation over the lyrics and movement highlights. Observe that artists as a whole are overwhelmingly of left persuasions, some are apolitical, but remarkably few are of the right. Revolution is inherently creative, creation is inherently revolutionary!

Share a little bit about your creative process!

My creative process is discontinuous. It comes in spurts of inspiration. A good portion of that inspiration comes from watching others, learning from others, often combining multiple inspirations, and then finding my own unique expression of it. Every dance to the same music is slightly different because each is truly interpretive at the moment of movement.

Are there any other reflections you'd like to share?

One of the greatest satisfactions in the world is to see the smiles on the faces of almost all who see the Dance of Peace in the streets, to know that my dance has touched someone, to know that it has given some joy, to know that it has put peace into every heart! Every time I make eye contact, it makes me smile!

I have come to see the potential of using performing and movement arts to build community while sometimes engaging audiences in vital discussions on social justice and peace.

Instagram: @danceofpeace YouTube: youtube.com/sharatlin