Thursday, April 30, 2009

Week-long Residency in Pemaquid, Maine

March 30-April 3
We had the chance to work with the whole school (K-8th grades) creating and choreographing a 40-minute show called "China's diverse legacy." We based the story on Chinese Culture 5000 years ago using many of the traditional Chinese ribbons, fans, lanterns, lion masks, etc. We had six classes everyday followed by Questions and Answers meetings three times that week, where we also taught students a few greeting phrases in the Chinese language. The day was full of activities interacting with everyone in the school. They have been doing this type of residency for over 10 years now and this year they had the biggest number of students participating in their diversity week show. It was very well received. I do say the place was beautiful and mysterious, with an amazing landscape and delicious food. It was the best place to relax and the people were terrific.
-Noibis Licea (company dancer)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Auditions for Dancers to be held on June 9 & 10

AUDITIONS

Professional Male AND Female Dancers

Full-Time Position

For 2009-2010 Season

Excellent Pay

June 9th, 2009 and June 10th, 2009 from 12-4 pm
Call Back on June 12th

Call for appointment - (800)650-0246

Location: Harlem School of the Arts
645 Saint Nicholas Ave, NYC

resume and picture required for audition

Practical Training / P-3 Opportunity available

Equal Opportunity

hr@nainichen.org

(800)650-0246

Friday, April 24, 2009

Nai-Ni Chen to Perform in Morristown on Saturday

Nai-Ni Chen melds East and West to suit her creativity

by Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger
Thursday April 23, 2009, 2:43 PM


Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presents "Silk and Bamboo" Saturday at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown.

Nai-ni Chen Dance Company. Where: Community Theatre, Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, 100 South St., Morristown. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. How much: $20-$40. Call (973) 539-8008 or visit mayoarts.org.


Nai-Ni Chen has grown accustomed to living in two worlds.

The contemporary choreographer, whose Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presents "Silk and Bamboo" Saturday at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts in Morristown, brought centuries' worth of Chinese culture with her when she came to the United States from her native Taiwan in 1982. She now lives with her family in Fort Lee.

At first, Chen says, she tried to embrace American ways of thinking.

"I was trying to create something very abstract," she says, describing her search for a completely new movement vocabulary. "I put what I had learned in the past into my pocket and didn't go there."

Yet Chen discovered that her rich Chinese heritage was not easy to ignore. Now the two perspectives, Chinese and American, balance each other in her work. The Morristown performance will include the New Jersey premiere of "Crosscurrent," a duet in which the physical tension between the dancers reflects a cultural clash. This tension abates as rival currents begin to mingle.

The other novelty on the program is actually a revival. Chen describes "Calligraphy II," which she created in 1995, as pivotal. It was the first dance in which she allowed herself to dip into the pocket where she kept her Chinese identity.

"I saw the calligraphy hanging in my living room, and I thought, 'Oh, gosh, the inspiration is right here in front of me. I walk past it every day,'" Chen says. "I found that I could look deeper and see movements and ideas. I realized it was time for me to go back to my roots and dig."

"Calligraphy II" turned into an ambitious collaboration with a commissioned score by American composer Joan La Barbara and a set designed by Myun Hee Cho. Under Chen's influence, La Barbara incorporated instruments and vocal effects from Beijing Opera. Yet she also employed chance procedures to write the score, adapting an avant-garde technique pioneered by John Cage. Cho created a backdrop and hanging panels decorated with a style of calligraphy called wild cursive.

Chen explains that most Chinese characters are written with several strokes of the ink brush, but in wild cursive each character is formed with a single stroke, bringing the act of writing closer to dancing. "It's more passionate and without restrictions," Chen says.

She adds that, like fine calligraphy, her choreography channels energy to achieve a harmonious balance between positive and negative space. Although "Calligraphy II" is an abstract work in which the dancers' relationships to one another remain as guarded and oblique as the metaphors in classical Chinese poetry, the performers' awareness of the space around them imbues the dance with strength and vitality.

Sharing the evening with "Crosscurrent" and "Calligraphy II" will be three dynamic group works inspired by various aspects of Chinese culture: "Bamboo Prayer;" "The Way of Five -- Fire," incorporating elements of martial arts; and "Mirage," which draws upon the folk dance traditions of Xinjiang Province in Western China.

"I focus on exploring what I think is the essence of Chinese tradition," Chen says. "Then I use those ideas as inspiration to create contemporary work."

Nai-Ni Chen to Perform at Liberty Health Gala

Liberty Health's May 8 Gala to Support Trauma Center and EMS
by Denise D. Gibson / The Jersey Journal
Thursday, April 16, 2009

Liberty Health will hold its annual Spring Gala on Friday, May 8, with proceeds to benefit the Port Authority Heroes of September 11th Trauma Center at the Jersey City Medical Center and the Jersey City Medical Center Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The events will take place at the Westin Jersey City, at 479 Washington Boulevard, from 6 to 11 p.m.

"The Gala affords us a good time to reflect on the past year, to take pride in our accomplishments and to confront the challenges that lay ahead." said Joseph F. Scott, FACHE, Liberty Health's president and CEO.

The Gala will recognize the role the Jersey City Medical Center EMS and Trauma Center played in serving as a triage for survivors from the World Trade Center's terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, and taking passengers from rescue boats and speeding them to safety in the miraculous airplane landing on the Hudson River on January 15, 2009.

Their responses to these emergencies, as well as hundreds of smaller life-saving efforts, have earned the Center and EMS citations and national commendations. Today, JCMS's Trauma Center and EMS employ the most up-to-date technology, with a response time that has been reduced to 6 minutes and 2 seconds, one of the best in the country.

The Gala will have an Asian theme, which will include a performance by the internationally acclaimed Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. Asian fusion cuisine will be featured, with attendees dancing to the beat of the renowned Peter Duchin Orchestra. To purchase tickets or for additional information for the Gala, call (201)377-6057, or go to www.libertyhealth.org.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Join us at the Harlem School of the Arts this Saturday

Join the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Saturday, April 18
12:00 Noon

Harlem School of the Arts - Gathering Space
645 Nicholas Ave
(Take the A,C,D trains to 145th St.)
An informal showing of Nai-Ni Chen's most recent works,
including excerpts of "Mirage," "Quest" and "Crosscurrent."

There will be a Meet-the-Dancers/Q & A session
following the performance.


Admission is free and open to the public

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Nai-Ni Chen to Teach at Peridance in May


Nai-Ni Chen has been invited this year to teach an Intensive Summer Workshop at the Peridance Center, with an emphasis on Modern Technique and Repertory.

The workshop will take place May 25 - 29,
Monday - Friday 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Workshop Costs
:
Monday - Friday:$90
Single Class: $20

For more information or to register for the workshop, click here.