Born and raised in China, Ying studied Chinese classical folk dance and attended the Nanjing University of Arts, where she was an inaugural member of the university's 4-year choreography program. She began her professional career as a dance teacher at the Sichuan College of Arts & Culture, where she later took on a director role for the dance department. In 2008, she led students from the relatively unknown university to win a Lotus Award - the top prize in China's classical dance competition. On a sabbatical in 2010, she attended the Martha Graham School in New York in hopes of learning more about modern dance and its origins. She received a scholarship to continue her studies and to join the Graham 2 student company. In 2011, Xin Ying joined the Martha Graham Dance Company, where she is currently a principal dancer. 

Xin Ying performs many of Martha Graham’s iconic roles, including in Cave of the Heart, Errand into the Maze, Herodiade, Chronicle, Lamentation, and Deep Song. She has also been featured in contemporary works created for the Graham Company by renowned choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Pontus Lidberg, Annie-B Parson, Kyle Abraham, and others.

Xin Ying has developed a unique improvisation technique inspired by Graham’s “inner landscape” method. Her improvisational performances have garnered widespread attention across major social media platforms and prestigious institutions, including The Met and MoMA. Her work has been highlighted in her Dance Magazine cover story and Frjod Review.

Xin Ying is deeply passionate about sharing the Graham technique with global audiences and engaging with the Graham archives through emerging technologies. Her project Lamentation: Dancing the Archive, an immersive experience, received the Google Artist + Machine Intelligence Grant Award and is set to premiere at Jacob’s Pillow in the summer of 2025.

In addition to her performances, Xin Ying teaches and choreographs worldwide, with engagements ranging from Salt Lake City, UT, and Little Rock, AR, to Turkey and China.