Thomas Tsai

TOM TSAI is a dance artist, filmmaker, educator, and activist. His upbringing took place during Taiwan’s transition towards democracy and in this environment, he became drawn to Hip Hop culture, Breakin’, and dance for social justice. Situated between the histories of Taiwan, American minorities, Hip Hop, and western concert dance, Tom’s creative and teaching work is committed towards dignified portrayals of identities who resist erasure. He honors lineage, embraces cultural collision, and infuses personal and political determination with integrity, empathy, and earnestness. 

Tom’s Contemporary and Hip Hop dance solo works pay tribute to the extraordinary endurance and resilience that the politically marginalized exhibit on a daily basis. His choreography employs physical rigor with self-inquiry, personal storytelling with political expression, and combats cultural erasure. Tom has been privileged to perform his solo works throughout the USA, and internationally in London, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Singapore. He has received support from the City of Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, Ghost Light Residency, and Dance Resource Center’s Homegrown Residency @ The Music Center. He is a 2-time winner at REVERBDance Festival (NYC), and a 2023 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellow.

Tom is a core artist with Dancing Through Prison Walls (DTPW), a California-based dance collective that collaborates with people impacted by mass incarceration. Through dance performance and creative process, DTPW amplifies their experiences and imaginations while raising awareness of the prison industrial complex. Tom fulfills choreographic, performance, and filmmaking roles under the direction of Artistic Director Suchi Branfman. Their films have been featured at conferences, film festivals, and in publications nationwide, including the Los Angeles Times, Dance Magazine, Dance Camera West, and Social Justice Film Festival.

Tom has been adjunct dance faculty at Pomona College, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, and Chapman University. He feels honored to be sharing his Breaking experience with NYU Tisch.