About Lingyuan “Maggie” Zhao

赵(Zhao) 羚(Ling) 苑(Yuan), known as Maggie Zhao in the U.S., is a dance artist, choreographer, director, educator, and Buddhist practitioner. She was born and grew up in Kunming (City of Eternal Spring), Yunnan Province, China. Influenced by diverse ethnic cultures, music, dance, and folklore drama throughout her childhood, Maggie committed to a dance career at 11 years old by attending Chongqing Dance School to receive institutionalized dance training under the Chinese Dance Curriculum. Zhao was trained in Chinese classical, folk, and ethnic dances, Vaganova ballet, and American contemporary/modern dance. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Capital Normal University (Beijing), concentrating on choreography and dance pedagogy. In China, Maggie worked as a dance teacher at the Asian Dance Research Center and as Assistant to the Artistic Director at Chinese Children's Musical Theater. In 2008, Zhao performed a leading role in Fly at the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

In 2011, Maggie decided to study abroad in the U.S. to expand her knowledge and worldview in contemporary modern dance as well as dance composition. Maggie received her MFA in choreography at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She joined Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, a professional contemporary dance company in Philadelphia, in 2015 as Assistant to the Artistic Director. She was promoted to Rehearsal Director in 2016 and served as the company’s Assistant Artistic Director from 2019 to 2026.

In the U.S., Zhao presented her dance pedagogical and choreographic research at the conference Speaking with Our Feet: Advocating, Analyzing, and Analyzing Dance Education by the National Dance Education Organization, Interfaith Studies: Curricular Programs and Core Competencies!, etc. Zhao was invited to serve on the Advisory Group at the Crafting Community Project of Interfaith Philadelphia in 2019-2020. She has also been invited to teach masterclasses as a Guest Artist at UNC Charlotte, DeSales University, Temple University, Cabrini University, Georgetown University, etc.

Continuing her passion for dance pedagogy and research, Maggie is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Swarthmore College’s Dance Department. As a full-time faculty member at Swarthmore College, Maggie served as Faculty Production Manager from 2023 to 2025, and teaches a wide range of dance courses, such as Contemporary/Modern Dance, Ballet, Chinese Dance, Dance Labs, Repertory, and a co-taught course: East Asian Performing Arts on the Intercultural Stage in Theory and Practice with Dr. Ellen Gerdes. In 2026-2027, Zhao extends her community service as a Faculty Representative at the Cooper Foundation and a parliamentarian with the Dance Department. Zhao has received grants to support her embodied research and pedagogical enrichment, including the William J. Cooper Foundation, Tri-Co Philadelphia Engagement Grant, Faculty Grant Award, etc.