Civic Music brings stellar group to Burlington
By BOB SAAR
for The Hawk Eye
3/27/2010
Perhaps the brightest facet of Civic Music flashes when it brings cultural presentations down to our side of the river. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company proved that last night at Burlington's Memorial Auditorium.
Nai-Ni Chen Dance is a blend of modern jazz and traditional Asian dance and art, and as such conjures multiple images.
Poetry in far motion is too trite. Nai-Ni Chen Dance tells stories without words.
The New York Times called them a "blossom of color, energy and motion."
Burlington has witnessed a number of Broadway musicals, replete with song and hoofing in the vein of American culture; the best of these in recent years was "Chicago" in 2008.
Compare the choreography and dancing of Nai-Ni Chen Dance with "Chicago" and this is the result: Exotic not erotic. Sensual not sexual. Precious not precision.
A hallmark of any truly creative artist is the abandonment of self before self-serving perfection takes over, and the eight Nai-Ni Chen Dance members are, without question, world-class interpretive dancers who interpret with their souls.
The troupe presented last night's largish audience with humans who danced like tigers, like serpents, like birds and horses and fishes and wraiths and even children. No one really knew exactly what was the symbolism of each dance, but everyone knew that life was the celebration.
Brilliant choreography brilliantly executed.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is art in the truest sense.
Jung Hm Jo of Korea estimated the dancers practice and rehearse "five hours every day." Their fluid and fluent bodies support that idea: The four men and four women have taut, lithe and sinewy physiques, not the Schwarzeneggerian beefcake that so many American dancers attain with too much weight training.
Ethereal at times, street raw at others, the dances were all, with a few exceptions, interpretive jazz, blending African, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern and Latin moves with music that reflected all of those origins as well.
One curious moment occurred when the singers on the accompanying prerecorded soundtrack sounded like Yoko Ono had joined the band.
"Love Song of Xishuangbanna" is a stylized celebration from the Dai people of southwest China, portraying two young lovers. "Peacock Dance," a solo presentation by Min Zhou of China, is another Dai dance; Min played the role of the sacred peacock with perfection.
Chien-Hao Chang of Taiwan is in America for the first time, and he found Iowa to be as exciting as New York, where, he said, "there are a lot of dancers and choreographers."
The troupe heads for the Virgin Islands for its next show, and Burlington awaits Civic Music's season closer, cowboy music legends Riders in the Sky Thursday, April 29.
Area residents can experience a variety of cultures when they get their “Passport to the World” Friday, March 5, at the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees’ annual fundraiser. The event begins at 6 p.m. on the Mohawk Valley Community College campus.
Now in its seventh year, Passport features an ethnic food reception and cultural entertainment, said Alison Swartz, coordinator of public relations and events.
As part of Passport, the Refugee Center has partnered with MVCC to bring the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company for a performance at 8 p.m.
“The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is one of the few Asian-American dance companies that are in the United States,” Swartz said. “Their specialty is a mix of traditional and contemporary dance. What’s unique about them is they’ve got these costumes and these props that they incorporate in their dances.”
“It’s really a way for people to g
et out and enjoy a different culture through dance,” said Shelly Callahan, director of programs and services for the center.
The evening also will include a silent auction featuring items provided by locally owned, international businesses, including baskets made by refugees and gift certificates to stores and restaurants owned by refugees.
All proceeds from the event support the programs and services of the MVRCR, which include resettlement services for refugees, health and family services, and multicultural services, including education, training and outreach.
Tickets are $50 and are available by contacting Swartz at 738-1083, ext. 127 or by e-mailing alisons@mvrcr.org.
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