Zhang Yan graduated from the Dance Academy of Sichuan Conservatory of Music in 2016, majoring in Chinese Dance Performance and Education. She joined the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group Opera and Dance Theatre in 2016, became a member of Guangdong Modern Dance Company in 2017, and joined Xie Xin Dance Theatre in 2023. She is currently a freelance dancer based in Shanghai.
She has toured and participated in artistic exchanges at international festivals across various countries and regions, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK), New Zealand, the Sibu International Dance Festival (Malaysia), Mexico, France, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
From 2016 to 2025, her major contemporary dance performances have included works such as NEGOTIATIONG PEACE, DOS AU MUR and Last Stand by Algerian choreographer Brigel Gjoka, as well as Mass Solitude by New Zealand’s Footnote Dance Company, among others.