BaiYu Fisher: Breaking Barriers Through Dance, Courage & Advocacy
BaiYu Fisher - Iowa
Nomination by Ami Yaro
Photography by Megan Borg
Issue 42 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
January 21, 2021
Nomination: BaiYu was born in China with albinism and abandoned by her birth mother. She has difficulties with vision, yet she has become a great dancer and circus artist. She is a very positive and motivated person despite her difficult beginnings in life and her physical challenges. She has had the courage to come forward with even her toughest internal struggles and publicly tell her story to be a role model for others. At this point in my career, I have quite literally worked with thousands of young people. BaiYu inspires me.
BaiYu Fisher – Iowa
Photography by Jaime Hough Photography
Issue 42 of Inspiring Teens Magazine
Nomination: BaiYu was born in China with albinism and abandoned by her birth mother. She has difficulties with vision, yet she has become a great dancer and circus artist. She is a very positive and motivated person despite her difficult beginnings in life and her physical challenges. She has had the courage to come forward with even her toughest internal struggles and publicly tell her story to be a role model for others. At this point in my career, I have quite literally worked with thousands of young people. BaiYu inspires me.
What would you most like to talk about?
My childhood and how my physical challenges as well as my internal struggles have impacted me as a teen as well as how I hope to inspire others with my story.
What inspiring things about you does your nomination not cover?
I've inspired others to start contortion, I've been an inspiration to many young and old dancers.
If you were to present a topic to a group of your peers, what would it be on and why? (What do you feel passionate about or could talk forever about?)
Mental health doesn't define you, just because you have these internal struggles and are faced with them every minute of your life doesn't mean you are your mental illnesses. I think it's extremely important for people to realize that mental illnesses don't make a person "dangerous" they don't change who the person really is.Society likes to categorize people, and according to science the brain categorizes to help organize and keep all the information in the brain. So understandably we use categories to help us remember, however, we tend to have bias towards certain categories or groups.I could go on and on about the importance in breaking the stigma around mental health and in general inequality in our society.
Tell us about your childhood and physical challenges.
I was born in Xiamen City with a rare disease known as albinism. This means that I lack pigment in my skin, hair and eyes. This disease is not curable, and its primary impact is on my eyesight. Growing up I had several accommodations in school to ensure my success. Even now that I am in college, Iowa State’s Student Accessibility Center has provided me with accommodations to aid in my educational success. Throughout my childhood I was extremely active and did several extracurricular activities and would not let my lack of vision stop me. As a dance, self-taught aerialist, handbalancer and contortionist I have proven that there is no limit to success. There is no limit to what you can do because of what you were born with, where you came from or what society says you should be able to do.
Where are you now with the internal struggles that have impacted you as a teen?
Today I am continuing to learn and grow from my past. I am becoming an advocate for others who may be experiencing similar internal struggles. As someone with depression and anxiety, I understand the feeling of not being good enough. I know several teens who have experienced that feeling and being a voice for others is such an empowering thing to do. Contributing to changing the stigma around mental health is my current priority because mentally ill people are still human beings and should be treated as such. I truly believe that no diagnosis should define a person. Being able to stand up and come forward with my struggles has inspired other teens to do the same and the beauty in that is breathtaking. To know that I have such an impact on others gives me hope.
How did you get into dance and contortion, and what is your training like? Walk us through your journey as well as what a typical training day is like.
As a child, my siblings were dancers, I grew up playing piano and doing gymnastics everywhere I went. When my siblings were in dance I decided, I was just going to “try” it. Seven years later I found a new physical activity. I had gone to see my first Cirque Du Soleil show and was inspired to be a contortionist from that moment on. Living in Iowa I knew there weren’t any contortion instructors, so I began teaching myself. I began learning and expanding my knowledge in aerial arts and contortion. On training day, I always start with a warmup whether that be learning a new tik tok dance, dancing around the house, or going for a run. I typically do strengthening after that to prepare my body for handstands and contortion. From there I will stretch out and work on various contortion poses. Then come the handstands and lastly will come the aerial stuff and I will end with another stretch session and conditioning.
Why do you want to be in Inspiring Teens Magazine?
I would love to be in Inspiring Teens because I truly believe that my words, my voice and my passion shows through when I write, and through the actions I take to raise awareness about important topics. I think my voice is one to be reckoned with and believe that others will find inspiration and knowledge from what I have to say.
Look for BaiYu in issue 42 of Inspiring Teens Magazine!
* Interviews are shared in the teen’s own words so their authentic voice shines through.
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