Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Celebrates Asia and the Dragon Boat Festival

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Celebrates Asia and the Dragon Boat Festival
with a performance at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture
FREE ADMISSION: Tickets Required
Sunday, June 12, 2022
free dance tickets
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will be performing in celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 3pm in the Repertory Theater. The family friendly performance is FREE with ticket registration required. For more information and to register, click here or call the Hostos Box Office at (718) 518-4455, open Monday-Friday, 10am – 5pm.
Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival and more with the world-renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. Experience spectacular dances, dazzling props, and vibrant costumes in this fantastic performance for the entire family. Dancers will bring you to the rain harbor of Taiwan where children play joyously in the rain, a beautiful southern China tea Garden where the flowers are blooming, and butterflies are floating among the fragrant tea trees. You will also visit the powerful warriors in China’s Forbidden Palace and witness an exciting and colorful Dragon Boat Festival.
“…a thrilling display of artistry…succeeded in delighting persons of all ages.”
– Broadway World
“…like endlessly proliferating forces of cosmic energy…”
– The New York Times
About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company:
Chen‘s phrases, part exoskeletal rigidity, part boneless grace, embodied an epic dignity.” – Village Voice
Choreographer/Dancer Nai-Ni Chen (1958-2021) was a unique artist whose work crosses many cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an immigrant and an American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture. From this very personal perspective, she created new works that reflect current issues with global influences. Some of her works were developed in collaboration with renowned artists such as the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, Jason Kao Hwang, Tao Chen, Tan Dun and the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York.
Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey. The company’s ground-breaking works have focused on themes from ancient legends that reflect issues of the present time to purely abstract, contemporary dances influenced by a mix of cultures Nai-Ni Chen experienced in New York. An Asian American company that celebrates cross-cultural experience, the Company’s productions naturally bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality.
The Company has presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls such as the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida. The Company appears annually at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and on Ellis Island. Internationally, the Company has presented at international festivals including Open Look Festival in Russia, the Silesian International Contemporary Dance Festival, the Konfrontations International Festival in Poland, the Chang Mu International Dance Festival in Korea, the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival in China, and the Tamaulipas International Arts Festival in Mexico.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received more than 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Advancing Dance Education, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently in residence in New Jersey City University pioneering a program with the University’s A Harry Moore Laboratory School teaching dance to urban children with disabilities. For additional Company information, visit their website, www.nainichen.org; write to Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, P.O. Box 1121, Fort Lee, NJ 07024; or call (800) 650- 0246.
Programs of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company are made possible by the generous support of our Board members, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF), the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, The New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund administered by the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, New Music USA, the Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Dance/NYC Dance Advancement Fund, the Rapid Response Program of American Dance Abroad, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Cultural Exchange Fund, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, PSEG, Proskauer, WAC Lighting, and the Glow Foundation and the Dragon and Phoenix Foundation.
About The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture:
The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture is celebrating their 34th year of showcasing artists and companies that define excellence in theater, dance and music and embody our mission to be a cultural force in the Bronx and throughout the New York metropolitan area. Their Spring 2022 Season features over 20 performances through June from Hip Hop, Latin Jazz, Salsa, Chamber Music, Theater, to Dance and more.
As a dynamic force dedicated to the cultural and artistic life of the Bronx and New York City, Hostos plays a central role in providing accessible programs that reflect and celebrate the artistic richness and diversity of our communities. Named the “the powerful locus of Latino Art” by The New York Times, Hostos Center is recognized nationally as a leader in Latino/a/x and African-based programming.
The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture consists of a museum-grade art gallery, a 367-seat Repertory Theater, and a 900-seat Main Theater, presenting artists of national and international renown. It is easily accessible from Manhattan, Queens and New Jersey and is a mere 15 minutes by subway from midtown Manhattan.
Hostos Center events are sponsored by the Hostos Community College Foundation with funds from the: National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Coalition of Theaters of Color, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathleen Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Office of New York State Assemblyman José Rivera, and the Office of New York City Councilmember Rafael Salamanca, Jr.

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY Announces “The Bridge”

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY
Announces
The Bridge
Virtual Dance Institute
 of Boundary-Breaking Dance Experiences
Free One-Hour Company Classes on Zoom
Open to All Dancers at an Intermediate to Advanced Level
June 1, 2022
 In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has established a new dance institute through Zoom, The Bridge.  The Institute’s aim is to bring together dancers, choreographers and directors around the world to experience the master teachers of color whose practices are embedded in the community and are focused on advancing the art of dance that transform the personal, environmental and metaphysical spaces. Interested dancers can join the class by registering here.
As a virtual dance institute, The Bridge will invite world renowned as well as up and coming dancers and choreographers to come to guest teach the class. Advanced/Intermediate level professional or pre-professional dancers who are looking to explore beyond their own boundaries and looking for new dance experiences are encouraged to participate. The core program is based on Nai-Ni Chen’s Kinetic Spiral, which is a cross-cultural dance vocabulary that integrates the Chinese martial arts philosophy in TaiChi with contemporary dance practices she studied in America. Guest artists will cover a wide range of folk and classical dance styles.
The Bridge Class schedule are as follows:
Monday, May 30, 2022 | Memorial Day – NO CLASS
Wednesday, June 1, 2022 | Rio Kikuchi (Kinetic Spiral) at 10am
Tapping into the creative energy of the universe through Kinetic Spiral. Nai-Ni Chen‘s signature technique is based on the principle of ever-changing universal forces of Yin and Yang. Dance phrases from Nai-Ni Chen‘s repertory will be taught.
In this trying time of change and uncertainty, the arts are a source of healing and unity, we would like to encourage everyone to support dance as dance is an essential medicine for the society to recover from the pandemic that has caused injury to our bodies and our hearts. Support for The Bridge can be sent through https://www.nainichen.org/donate.
About the Artist:
Born in Tokyo, Japan. At age of 3, Rio Kikuchi began ballet training at Studio Benus in Japan and later she was introduced to Tap and Jazz. She took Summer Intensive at Kirov Academy of Ballet of Washington DC in 2015. She also studied Ballet technique and Point work privately with Luis Villanueva. In 2017, Rio moved to New York and was offered Scholarship to study at The School of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In addition, she received a Scholarship at Alonzo King Lines Ballet Summer Program in 2019. She has performed with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at New York City Center in 2018. A member of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Rio is also a certified Gyrokinesis® instructor.
About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company:
Chen‘s phrases, part exoskeletal rigidity, part boneless grace, embodied an epic dignity.” – Village Voice
Choreographer/Dancer, Nai-Ni Chen, was a unique artist whose work crosses cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an immigrant and an American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture. From this very personal perspective, she created new works that reflect current issues with global influences. Some of her works were developed in collaboration with renowned artists such as the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, and the members of the New Asia Chamber Music Society.
Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey. The company’s ground-breaking works have focused on themes from ancient legends that reflect issues of the present time to purely abstract, contemporary dances influenced by a mix of cultures Nai-Ni Chen experienced in New York. An Asian American company that celebrates cross-cultural experience, the Company’s productions naturally bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality.
The Company has presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls such as the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida. The Company appears annually at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and on Ellis Island. Internationally, the Company has presented at international festivals including Open Look Festival in Russia, the Silesian International Contemporary Dance Festival, the Konfrontations International Festival in Poland, the Chang Mu International Dance Festival in Korea, the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival in China, and the Tamaulipas International Arts Festival in Mexico.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received more than 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Advancing Dance Education, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently in residence in New Jersey City University pioneering a program with the University’s A Harry Moore Laboratory School teaching dance to urban children with disabilities. For additional Company information, visit their website, www.nainichen.org; write to Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, P.O. Box 1121, Fort Lee, NJ 07024; or call (800) 650- 0246.

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Welcomes Back Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company to Celebrate Both the Legacy of Nai-Ni Chen and the Year of the Water Tiger

Nai-Ni Chen
a world of dance just minutes from home
When: Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. EST
Where: NJPAC is located at 1 Center Street, Newark, New Jersey; a short walk from the Newark Penn Station stop by Newark-bound PATH Train or Amtrak.
Tickets: $17 and Up. To purchase, contact NJPAC at 1.888.GO.NJPAC/1.888.466.5722
Health + Safety Protocols: NJPAC regularly updates its COVID protocols and procedures based on CDC, federal, state, city, and other scientific data.
Visit NJPAC.org for the most updated guidelines.
The critically acclaimed Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presents Year of the Water Tiger at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in a family-friendly matinee celebration on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Paying tribute to the incredible dancer, choreographer, and educator Nai-Ni Chen, this marks the Company’s return to NJPAC after Chen’s untimely passing in December 2021. Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has been a beloved presence at NJPAC since it first opened its doors in 1997.
In addition to vibrant dance commemorating the Year of the Water Tiger, NJPAC will also welcome the innovative classical music group, the Ahn Trio. (Program details are below.)
The afternoon begins with demonstrations and fun activities staged in the lobby before the performance. Year of the Water Tiger celebration combines the elegance of traditional Asian art and the beauty of American modern dance with thrilling choreography, exotic music and dazzling acrobats. Audiences get close to the exciting sights of dancing lions and dragons, the lilting sound of Chinese pipa and erhu, and vibrant gold and red costumes and props.
On stage, the first part of the program starts with one of the most popular dances performed in the Chinese New Year Double Lions Welcome Spring and the most colorful Chinese traditional dances in the repertory, Festival and Dragon Dance. Sandwiched between is one of Na-Ni Chen’s most iconic dances, Raindrops, which takes the audience to the choreographer’s childhood. To express the Company’s hope for the next generation, Company Director Ying Shi brings Green Lotus by eight junior dancers from her academy.
In the second half of the program, the dancers of Nai-Ni Chen pay tribute to the grace and power of Nai-Ni Chen’s work by performing her signature work, Incense. Making its NJPAC debut is the chamber music ensemble, Ahn Trio. Hailed by The Los Angeles Times as “exacting and exciting musicians,” the three sisters (pianist Lucia, violinist Angella, and cellist Maria) have earned a distinguished reputation for embracing 21st century classical music with their unique style and innovative collaborations. The Ahn Trio is a longtime collaborator of Nai-Ni Chen and they will play Ave Maria by Bach; Concrete Stream with music composed by Kenji Bunch, their first collaboration with Nai-Ni Chen, and Skylife, one of their signature works.
The program ends with UNITY, one of Nai-Ni Chen’s final work, completed by PeiJu Chien-Pott, the Company’s current Director of New and Creative Dance who worked with composer Jason Kao Hwang to finalize the powerful work that is Nai-Ni Chen’s urgent call to the world.
About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
“Like endlessly proliferating forces of cosmic energy”… The New York Times
“Chen’s phrases, part exoskeletal rigidity, part boneless grace, embodied an epic dignity.” – Village Voice
Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey. The company’s ground-breaking works have focused on themes from ancient legends that reflect issues of the present time to purely abstract, contemporary dances influenced by a mix of cultures Nai-Ni Chen experienced in New York. An Asian American company that celebrates cross-cultural experience, the Company’s productions naturally bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality. The Company’s repertory is based on the works of its recently passed founder, Choreographer/Dancer, Nai-Ni Chen who is a unique artist whose work crosses cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an immigrant and an American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture. From this very personal perspective, she creates new works that reflect current issues with global influences. Many of her works have been developed in collaboration with renowned artists such as the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, Myung Hee Cho, Karen Young, Bei Dao among others. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently directed by Artistic Director Greta Campo, Director of Traditional Dance, Shi Ying, and Director of Contemporary/Creative Dance, PeiJu Chien-Pott.
The Company has presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls such as the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida. The Company appears annually at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and on Ellis Island. Internationally, the Company has presented at international festivals including Open Look Festival in Russia, the Silesian International Contemporary Dance Festival, the Konfrontations International Festival in Poland, the Chang Mu International Dance Festival in Korea, the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival in China, and the Tamaulipas International Arts Festival in Mexico.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received more than 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Advancing Dance Education, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently in residence in New Jersey City University pioneering a program with the University’s A Harry Moore Laboratory School teaching dance to urban children with disabilities. For additional Company information, visit their website, www.nainichen.org; write to Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, P.O. Box 1121, Fort Lee, NJ 07024; or call (800) 650- 0246.
About NJPAC
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, N.J., is America’s most diverse performing arts center, and the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey – where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city.
Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has served more than 10 million visitors (including over 1.9 million students and families) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.

2022 Chita Rivera Awards #Dance #PerformingArts

theater dance awards show NYC
Legendary Broadway performer and Tony, Academy, and Golden Globe Award winner Joel Grey (Cabaret, Wicked, Anything Goes) will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Chita Rivera Awards (www.ChitaRiveraAwards.com), it was announced today by Joe Lanteri, Founder and Executive Director of the New York City Dance Alliance Foundation (www.NYCDAFoundation.net).  The Chita Rivera Awards will take place at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts (566 LaGuardia Place, off Washington Square Park) on Monday, June 20 at 7:30pm. Lanteri produces the Chita Rivera Awards in conjunction with Patricia Watt.
It was also announced today that the Nominations Announcement has been rescheduled to May 17 due to Covid complications.
Carrying the namesake of one of the great dance icons of the American musical theater, the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards is to celebrate dance and choreographic excellence – past, present and future. The awards will honor the superb achievement of each nominee, while recognizing the immeasurable talents and passion of every theatrical choreographer and dancer. Additionally, through education and scholarships, the awards are committed to nurturing future generations, as well as preserving notable dance history.
Nominators will consider outstanding choreography, featured dancers and ensemble in shows on Broadway and Off Broadway, as well as, outstanding choreography in film, that opened pre-Covid as well as in the 2021-2022 season. Nominations for the productions under consideration this season will be determined by the designated nominating committee. There are separate nominating committees for Broadway, Off Broadway and Film. There is also an awarding committee for Broadway, which determines the final nominations that are received from the Broadway nominations committee.
Honorees of the Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theater Award, and Ambassador For The Arts Award as well as when tickets go on sale will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We are thrilled to honor Joel this year with our Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Joe Lanteri. “From Cabaret and George M! to Chicago and Wicked, Joel’s body of work has put him in “theater icon” status. We are proud to celebrate the man and his career.”
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation College Scholarship Program will be the beneficiary of the event. Since the inception of the NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, 4 million dollars have been awarded to over 400 dancers represented in 42 of the most prestigious college dance programs in the country.
ABOUT JOEL GREY
In a career that was launched in the early 1950’s, Joel Grey has created indelible stage roles each decade since. Grey made his theatrical debut at the age of 9 in On Borrowed Time at the storied American regional theatre the Cleveland Play House. He recently directed a production of the play at New Jersey’s Two River Theater Company for their 20th Anniversary Season. He made his Broadway debut exactly two decades later in Neil Simon’s first comedy hit, Come Blow Your Horn (1961). Since then, his Broadway credits include the Stop the World I Want to Get Off, Half a Sixpence, Cabaret (Tony Award), George M! (Tony nomination), Goodtime Charley (Tony nomination), The Grand Tour (Tony nomination), Chicago (Drama Desk Award), Wicked, Anything Goes, and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Joel’s dramatic stage roles include Marco Polo Sings a Solo, Give Me Your Answer, Do! (Drama Desk nomination), New York City Opera’s Silverlake (directed by Hal Prince) and Larry Kramer’s seminal The Normal Heart at the Public Theatre, which he also subsequently co-directed with George C. Wolfe in its Tony Award winning Broadway premiere (Drama Desk Award, Tony nomination). Joel received the Academy Award, the Golden Globe and the British Academy Award for his performance in the 1972 film version of Cabaret (directed by Bob Fosse). He is one of only nine actors to have won both the Tony and Academy Award for the same role. Other film credits include Man on A Swing, Robert Altman’s Buffalo Bill and the Indians, The Seven Percent Solution, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Steven Soderbergh’s Kafka, Altman’s The Player, The Music of Chance, Michael Ritchie’s adaptation of The Fantasticks, Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark and Clark Gregg’s Choke. Notable television appearances include “Brooklyn Bridge” (Emmy nomination), “OZ,” “Law and Order: CI,” “House,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Private Practice,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Warehouse 13,” and “CSI.” In 2010, Joel was honored for his illustrious television career by The Paley Center for Media in both NYC and Los Angeles. Joel is also an accomplished photographer. He has five books of photographs, Pictures I Had to Take (2003), Looking Hard at Unexamined Things (2006), 1.3 – Images From My Phone (2009), and The Billboard Papers (2013) and The Flower Whisperer. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. His memoir, Master of Ceremonies, was published in February 2016 (Flatiron). Joel most recently directed the acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish which won the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revival, the 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Revival, and a 2019 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award Special Citation. Joel is the father of Jennifer and James and the grandfather of Stella.
dance theater Broadway awards CHITA RIVERA
ABOUT CHITA RIVERA
A theatrical icon and one of Broadway’s greatest triple-threat talents, Chita Rivera is one of the most nominated performers in Tony Award history having earned 10 nominations, won twice and received the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. A versatile actress/singer/dancer, her most recent starring roles include The Visit, the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele on Broadway; the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood; the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a dazzling musical celebrating her spectacular career, written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele and the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas. She trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Chita’s first appearance (age 19) was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam. Her electric performance as Anita in the original Broadway premiere of West Side Story brought her stardom, which she repeated in London. Her career is highlighted by starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink (Tony Award), Chicago, Jerry’s Girls, Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tony Award), and the original Broadway casts of Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Seventh Heaven and Mr. Wonderful. On tour: Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, Can-Can with The Rockettes. Chita was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009 and received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in 2002. In 2019, Chita performed her solo concert at London’s Cadogan Hall; in 2018 she was honored as a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy; in 2016 she headlined at Carnegie Hall and in 2015, Great Performances aired their special Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do, a retrospective of her extraordinary life and career nationally on PBS. Her current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing. Her most treasured production is her daughter, singer/dancer/choreographer Lisa Mordente.
ABOUT THE NYC DANCE ALLIANCE FOUNDATION, INC.
The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, Inc. (NYCDAF), founded in 2010 by Executive Director Joe Lanteri, is committed to broadening performing arts awareness while advocating education and high standards of excellence in dance. The Foundation invests in the next generation of professional performers by offering scholarships for secondary and college education. To date, over 300 talented teenagers have shared in nearly $3 million awarded directly through NYCDAF. Those recipients are represented in 42 of the most prestigious university arts programs in the country. Many have since graduated and are now represented on Broadway, as well as concert dance companies based in NYC and around the world. www.NYCDAFoundation.net

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY Announce Guest Artist Line-Up for the Year of the Pig Celebration at NJPAC #Theater

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY
Announce Guest Artist Line-Up
for the Year of the Pig
Celebration at NJPAC
Sat February 2 and Sun February 3, 2019 at 2pm

NJ dance

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will celebrate the end of the Chinese Zodiac cycle with a special program steeped in symbolism and virtue, expressing the Company’s commitment to the art and the culture of the community. For the occasion, the company has invited several world-renowned artists to join its program.

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company announces a colorful and vibrant special Chinese New Year Celebration at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ 07102, on Saturday and Sunday, February 2 and 3, 2019 at 2pm. Tickets are $17-35 and are available by phone at (888) GO-NJPAC or online at https://www.njpac.org/events/detail/year-of-the-pignai-ni-chen-dance-company.

This year, Nai-Ni Chen bring a new Bamboo themed production aimed to take audiences beyond cultural boundaries. Nai-Ni Chen chose bamboo as a theme to celebrate the Year of the Pig.

Why Bamboo? First, the Chinese phonetic sound for Bamboo is Zu, is similar to the sound for pig (Zu). Second, and perhaps more important, is because Bamboo is the most celebrated plant in Chinese culture. As far as 1000 years ago, during the Sung Dynasty (960-1269), noted for art and literature and philosophy, scholars have used bamboo as a symbol for the resiliency, humility, and honesty to inspire each other. The great poet and Literati, Su Dong Po said “I cannot live a day without bamboo”.

According to Nai-Ni Chen; in the current social and political climate, artists, like the scholar of the past generations, needs encourage their fellows and communities that moral character of humility, honesty and resiliency needs to be held at the highest no matter which way the wind blows. Art is what defines us as a society and civilization, and these traditional and contemporary dances she has created and choreographed, advocates for the cultural values and morality that she, as a female Chinese immigrant artist, brings to the United States. In this wonderful time of celebration of the end of the Zodiac cycle, she has prepared a festive and colorful experience that everyone can enjoy and yet carries the message of culture and value that we all share in common.

The Year of the Pig is expected to be a festival year of great abundance and prosperity. To celebrate the Year of the Pig, the Company has developed a rich and fantastic program that incorporates many positive aspects of Chinese and Chinese American immigrant culture in the program. Beside the remarkably acrobatic and beautiful dances, the Company has also invited special guest artists: Bamboo Flute master Tao Chen, Peking Opera artist Yun-Hong Jia, and paper cut master Hotien Cheng.

Tao Chen: An internationally acclaimed Chinese bamboo flutist, music educator, composer and

conductor of Chinese orchestra, is the founder and director of the Melody of Dragon, Inc.. He was the artistic director and conductor of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York and conductor of New Jersey Buddha’s light Youth Chinese Orchestra. He is also the 27th generation musician of Zhi-Hua Buddhism Music. The New York Times called Chen Tao, a “poet in music” and his playing “a miracle of the oriental flute.” Conductor Herbert Von Karajan praises him as an artist who “performs with his soul.” Chen Tao is a graduate and former Associate Professor at the prestigious Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He was the winner of the 1989 National Folk Instrument Competition in China and has toured throughout U.S., Germany, Italy, France, England, Holland, Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao. He has collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic and the Notional Orchestra of Lyon. His playing can be heard on several soundtracks of Hollywood movies including Seven Years in Tibet, Corrupter (with the New York Philharmonic) and on the PBS documentary Under the Red Flag.

Yong-Hong Jia is a professional Kunqu and Peking opera performer trained in the Beijing Kunqu Academy and performed principal roles in the Beijing Kunqu Opera Theatres in Beijing for many years. Ms. Jia was invited by New York Lincoln Center Festival to perform one of the principal roles in The Peony Pavilion in 1999 and performed in the subsequent tours, in France, Italy, Denmark, Australia, and Singapore. After the tour, she appeared in Beijing opera and Kunqu in major theatres and Chinese communities across North America. Aside from her stage appearances, Ms. Jia also starred in many award-winning movies and TV productions in China. She is currently serving as the President of Renaissance Chinese Opera Society in New York City.

Master Paper Cut Artist Ho Tien Cheng is oen of the few free-form style paper cutter Master in the world who can translate any three dimensional image onto the two dimensional paper. Hou-Tien Cheng has spent 50-years in his craft, and astonished millions of audience with his scissors. He has been featured on national TV commercials for Citigroup, and collaborated in the visual design of Nai-Ni Chen’s dance projects.


About the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Bringing the dynamic freedom of American modern dance together with the elegant splendor of Asian art, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is one of the most visible Asian American dance companies in America. Ms. Chen’s unique choreography transports audiences beyond cultural boundaries to the common ground between tradition and innovation, rising beyond form into the spirit.

One of the few Asian American professional dance companies with an extensive season of touring and performing around the world, Nai-Ni Chen has also developed Arts in Education residency programs in school districts to bring culture and arts into educational settings. Its colorful and engaging programs and workshops have reached over one million young audience members in the NY/NJ area. The Company is currently in residence at New Jersey City University and has been a Principal Affiliate of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center since its inception.

Dances Patrelle presents The Yorkville Nutcracker

Dances Patrelle presents The Yorkville Nutcracker from December 7-10, 2017 at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, E. 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, NYC. Performances: Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7pmSaturday at 2pm; and Sunday at 12pm and 5pm. Tickets are $65 (extended family, group, student and senior discounts available) and are available at www.dancespatrelle.org, by phone at 212-772-4448, or in person at The Kaye Playhouse Box Office.

This year marks the 22nd anniversary of The Yorkville Nutcracker, set in 1895, which includes lavish sets and costumes and takes the audience on a tour through Olde New York’s most beloved landmarks, including a holiday party at Gracie Mansion, dancing at the Crystal Palace in the New York Botanical Garden, and skating in Central Park. The Yorkville Nutcracker provides an opportunity for young dancers to dance alongside professional artists. This year, Abi Stafford of New York City Ballet will be the Sugar Plum Fairy with Cavalier Stephen Hanna (former principal dancer, New York City Ballet), and Maximillien Baud and Therese Wendler will perform the Snow Pas de Deux.

 

Dances Patrelle (dP) is a dynamic professional ballet company celebratingits 26th season! dP presents two annual seasons in New York – the timeless holiday tradition, The Yorkville Nutcracker, and a spring repertory season featuring world premieres and classic Patrelle favorites. Mr. Patrelle’s body of work includes over 50 original ballets choreographed for Dances Patrelle, and spans an incredibly wide range of styles, from his beloved American Songbook collection, to such contemporary classics as Madame X,Macbeth andRhapsody in Blue.  Heralded by Lynn Garafola in Dance Magazine as a choreographer with “a personal vision…classical because it is rooted in metaphor and symbolic language [and] populist because of its legibility and broad cultural resonance,” Patrelle has also cultivated a long-time collaboration with composer Patrick Soluri, commissioning four original scores including 2009’s Murder at the Masque for dP’s 20th Anniversary. Known for attracting the great talent of each generation, Dances Patrelle is pleased to count ballet stars such as Marcelo Gomes, Jenifer Ringer, Donald Williams, Lourdes Lopez, and Cynthia Gregory among its dancers. For 26 seasons,Dances Patrelle has tapped into the human experience, connecting intimately with the audience and continuously reinventing dramatic dance. In 2013, the company was named the resident ballet company of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

 “In Francis Patrelle’s ballets, the characters come alive. His choreography is full of heart and soul.” – Cynthia Gregory, Prima Ballerina

For more information, visit www.dancespatrelle.org.

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY at NJPAC June 3rd

NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY:
World Premiere of First Touch
to be performed at NJPAC
on Friday, June 3, 2016 at 7:30pm
The critically-acclaimed Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center(NJPAC) on Friday, June 3, 2016 at 7:30pm. The dances of choreographer Nai-Ni Chen fuse the dynamic freedom of American modern dance with the elegant splendor of Asian art. Enjoy a full evening of her work which The New York Times calls “endlessly proliferating forces of cosmic energy.” An extraordinary cast of dancers and musicians takes you on a fantastic journey that blossoms with color, energy, and motion. NJPAC audiences have experienced the Chinese Lunar New Year spectacles that Nai-Ni Chen produces each year and have witnessed the power and grace of her work alongside traditional dances. This summer performance is a presentation not to be missed!
NJPAC is located at 1 Center Street, Newark, NJ 07102. Tickets are $20-$50 and can be purchased at http://www.njpac.org/events/detail/nai-ni-chen-dance-company-1
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About The Nai-Ni Chen Program at NJPAC
From her own cultural journey as a Chinese immigrant in America, Nai-Ni Chen created Calligrafitti with noted composer Huang Ruo – a new piece which links the graceful, elegant lines of Chinese calligraphic art with the grit and rebellious freedom of American graffiti. According to Ink Painting Today “Calligraphy is sheer life experienced through energy in motion that is registered as traces on silk or paper, with time and rhythm in shifting space its main ingredients.”. By this definition, calligraphy reflects Nai-Ni Chen’s own background in Chinese dance, Peking Opera, and Chinese martial art. On the other hand, graffiti was born out of thirst for expression in the urban environment. For Nai-Ni, it reflects her immigration to America: her search for a sense of freedom as an 18-year-old performer first visiting New York City. Calligrafitti – will be performed with live music by the New Asia Chamber Music Society.
Mirage (2009) further showcases Nai-Ni Chen’s unique integration of Chinese philosophy and art into her work. Mirage originates from her journey to the Silk Road and integrates the essence of sculptures and paintings found within ancient Buddhist caves and the ecstatic rhythm and shifting motions of the Uyghur culture.
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WORLD PREMIERE: First Touch, a new piece that will have its world premiere at this concert, is a sensuous, physical duet that examines the human primal desire to connect.
ABOUT NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY
The dances of Nai-Ni Chen fuse the dynamic freedom of American modern dance with the grace and splendor of Asian art. The Company’s productions take the audience beyond cultural boundaries to where tradition meets innovation and freedom arises from discipline. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a vital resource of culture in the eastern United States. Each year, thousands of audiences are transported beyond cultural boundaries to the common ground between tradition and innovation, discipline and freedom, and form and spirit. According to The New York Times, they “…essentially recreated nature…”

Native American Dancers at Niagara Falls

native american dancersThese beautiful dancers preformed songs, played instruments, and sang songs native to their tribes as we sat enraptured.  The Nations we had the joy to watch explored their love and connection with nature via music and movement.  I have posted several videos on Vine and Instagram, I hope you follow along to see the performances for yourself, they are a rare treat.

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