Dance Review

Dance Review Commentary (as seen on 2/12/2011)
Temecula Old Town Community Theater, Temecula, CA

By Rob Appel

From their resident home at the Harlem School of the Arts in New York City (for more than 10 years), the 9-dancer Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company brought to us, one of the finest contemporary and modern dance companies to have appeared at the Temecula Old Town Community Theatre annual Dance Series. Representing the ‘grace and splendor of Asian Art’, it is indeed a pleasure to see a group of dancers, whose quality of dancer’s technique is equaled by the superb choreography of Nai-Ni Chen! What a satisfying marriage!

Opening with a welcome greeting by Temecula Artists Advocate Lauri Torok, the Nai-Ni Chen dancers presented a varied program of seven (7_ dance creations of choreographer nai-Ni Chen, to the excellent lighting designs of AC Hichcox (Rain Drops, Incense and Bamboo Prayer), Barry Steele (Peacock Dance), Susan Summers (Way of Five-Fire) and Carolyn Wong (Love Song of Xishuanbanna and Mirage). Lighting plays such a key role in the visual success of any dance – all the more so, with Nai-Ni Chen’s casting of dancers representing a round-the-world cross-section of excellent dancers – Ekaterina Chernikhova (Russia), Jamison Goodnight (US), Jung Hm Jo (Korea), Saki Masuda (Japan), Riyo Mito (Japan), Francisco Silvino (Brazil), Wei Yao (China), Min Zhou (China) and Nai-Ni Chen (China), it was a banquet of super bodies and technique!

In Rain Drops, choreographer Nai-Ni Chen has her four female dancers, bare-footed, in the very flattering-to-the-figure, paneled Chinese dresses – moving effortlessly to the music of Henry Wolff (and others), while introducing the audience to the symmetric-design of Chinese umbrellas opening-closing-twirling…what peaceful patterns of serenity. The second work, titled just Incense shared two couples in “recalling the ritual of the incense offerings at a temple”. An American female dancer (Jamison Goodnight), a Korean male dancer (Jung Hm Jo), a Japanese female dancer (Riyo Mito), and a Chinese male dancer (Wei Yao…together, in a quartet of blissful harmony of movement…very precise and restrained.

Even though each dance work presented, stood very much on its own elegance, there were a couple of stop-your-breath moments of such incredible beauty. One came with the solo piece The Peacock Dance, danced by the rather sensational Min Zhou (from China)…as she created a bird peacock…drinking water, walking, working, running and combing its feathers. (As noted) with over 55 ethnic groups in China, each with its unique traditions of dance and music, the Peacock is considered a sacred bird among the Dai people of the Yunnan Province. Min Zhou’s captivating hands and head movements left no doubt to the story she told – fabulous!

This viewer’s favorite though, was The Way of Five – Fire – in which, powerful and strong, Brazilian male dancer (Francisco Silvino) led the exploration focus into the element of fire. Both choreographed and costumed (in all red Kung-fu wardrobe) by Nai-Ni Chen, the five dancers related to the elements of wood, fire, water, metal and earth, with the extremely effective use of Chinese fans – opening and snapping-closed to the dramatic moments in the music of Tan Dun. This dance piece is very physical when needed, lyrical when called-upon, and virtually explosive in a dynamic finale to Act I.

In the second act, three works were featured – the opening Bamboo Prayer with Nai-Ni Chen herself, dancing (with four female dancers)…making most effective use of long 10-foot, very flexible bamboo poles – reflecting mankind’s nobility and virtue – symbolizing justice, strength and humiliy. Nai-Ni Chen loves to use ‘props’ as extensions of her messages. In the succeeding duet by the tall and lanky Chinese male dancer Wei Yao, and the absolutely brilliant Min Zhou…Love Song of Xishuanbanna – is inspired by a tropical zone on the Yunnan Province of Southwest China, endowed with sufficient sunshine and rainfall, which is the cradle and paradise for wildlife, as well as the habitat for more than 5,000 tropical plants…this was the resource for this very stylized dance – a young couple admiring each other in this beautiful paradise. So performed these two fine dancers in another ‘hightlight’ of the evening’s program.

The full ensemble of 9-dancers came together in the concert’s finale, simply titled Mirage to the music of Glen Velez…and, though a bit too long (could have been edited down for easier focus and consumption)…nevertheless, the Nai-Ni Chen dancers worked hard and delivered a sterling evening of quality dance. Seems much a shame that more of the SD [San Diego] dance community do not take these unique opportunities to see this quality of contemporary and modern dance.

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'Year of the Rabbit' review: Dancing to bring luck, fortune to the New Year

Published: Wednesday, February 09, 2011, 8:00 AM

By Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger

Putting your left fist into your right hand, and then wishing your neighbor a Happy Chinese New Year, will bring good luck and happiness.

That’s according to Andy Chiang, the executive director of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which welcomed the Year of the Rabbit with a boisterous Chinese New Year celebration at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Saturday.

It worked! The happiness started immediately, as soon as Chiang concluded his introduction and the curtain rose on the “Lion Dance,” an annual tradition featuring two men in a lion suit with a spectacular, wooden mask and the lion’s acrobatic handler.

In a shower of good fortune, the program also offered a striking Kunque Opera solo; a song recital by guest artists; folk dance favorites; and samples from Chen’s modern repertory displaying the sinuous and appealing physicality that is one of her trademarks.

The first duet of the evening showcased an odd couple. While the acrobat, Yao-Zhong Zhang, remained cheerfully deadpan, channeling his energy into foot-slapping leaps, his furry companion, the lion, was more relaxed and expressive. Though tempted by the toy that the acrobat held out to him, this jovial beast was too tame to charge after it, flopping on the ground to bite at imaginary fleas and needing to be roused from a nap.

lyrical partner

In “Duet on the River of Dreams,” Saki Masuda made a lyrical partner for Francisco Silvino, the boatman poling along an eternal stream. While he remained weighted, offering her support and framing her with the pole, Masuda embarked on playful adventures, always returning, however, to her place beside him.

Min Zhou and Wei Yao were the young couple flirting in “The Love Song of Xishuangbanna,” based on the traditional dances of the Dai people of Yunnan Province. Their oblique, twisting moves and finicky gestures, with the index finger bent, suggested the influence of neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Zhang returned in “The Double Spear Warrior,” an episode from Kunque Opera, an ancient Chinese performing art. Preening and striking poses in a costume that extended the lines of his body, with an extravagant, feathered headdress and platform shoes, Zhang was still able to twirl two batons and perform gymnastic feats.

Chen’s contemporary ensemble pieces were the most ambitious works on the program, however, from the wary and intensely contained “Way of Five — Fire,” in which the dancers sparred and brandished large fans as if they were weapons, to “Bamboo Prayer,” a dance in which bamboo poles created an environment trembling with life and energy.

Varying the mood and style, guest musicians David M. Liao and Linda Xia offered a trio of classical songs, his baritone warm and caressing to her piano accompaniment.

The matinee concluded with the “Dragon Dance,” actually a suite in which the title character, a serpentine puppet with gleaming, golden scales, made his appearance surrounded by dances in which the performers manipulated colorful ribbons, flags and kerchiefs. This kaleidoscopic ending placed the final, seal of good luck on the event, expressing everyone’s hopes for a New Year just as bright.

Photo by Joseph Wagner

CALIFORNIAN: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company celebrates nature

By HOLLY HERNDON - For The Californian North County Times - The Californian | Posted: Thursday, February 10, 2011 1:35 pm

When Nai-Ni Chen watches the changing of the seasons from her home on the East Coast she sees not only one of Mother Nature's greatest visual spectacles but also gets inspiration she can use in her day job.

"Ever since I was a little child I was very observant of nature," Chen said during a recent phone interview. "I would watch the clouds in the sky and the seasons change and it was like, somehow, I was born with a lot of interest in these things and I use them in my choreography. I see the colors. I feel the rhythm and I see the imagery change so I use nature as a subject."

Born in Taiwan, Chen began her training at the young age of four, specializing in Chinese dance. As a teenager, she branched out into various other styles of the dance genre as well as martial arts and music study. She began her professional dance career just out of college and has been on stage ever since.

Artistic Director and Choreographer Chen started Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in 1988 and, together with nine additional touring dancers, she has since won dozens of awards and critical acclaim for the unique style and vision she calls "cross cultural contemporary."

"I have a lot of training in traditional Chinese dance and the culture and philosophy but I've also been in this country for a long time so I'm trained as a modern dancer and choreographer so my work combines both cultures," she said. "My dancers also have very strong backgrounds and come from very different places like China, Korea, Brazil and the United States. It's a very international company and once they join the company they all bring their own specialties and their diverse unity which the others will learn. We are basically immersed into this unique style of unity."

Inland Empire residents can experience Chen's work this weekend as the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company comes to Old Town Temecula. The performance will include seven pieces from the company's vast repertoire.

"We will be doing a unique program that will include some of my jewels; my signature pieces that I have done over the past 20 years," Chen said. "Some are original choreography and there are a few folk dances as well. It should be a good mix."

The Temecula performance begins with an original work by Chen entitled "Raindrops."

"'Raindrops' is modern choreography and it is inspired by my childhood memories," she said. "I was born and brought up in a city North in Taiwan. It was a city by a seaport and it rained a lot. This dance is very joyful because it's a mixing of my childhood memories and how playful you can be during a rainy day as a child. It's just very lyrical and very sweet and very sentimental for me. It's a place that's very far away from me now but it's always in you."

A second piece, entitled "Incense," draws upon Chen's religious upbringing for inspiration.

"I remember I would go to temple and see the incense burning and people use it as a way to communicate with their god," Chen said. "I go to this country and see many artists and many other religions using it. We are so vulnerable and want to communicate with a higher being and somehow we use incense as a way to give our prayers. So, it's a piece that's very spiritual and very physical."

An additional piece being performed this weekend is "Bamboo Prayer," which pays tribute to one very symbolic plant.

"This piece describes how, in Chinese tradition, bamboo means a lot," Chen said. "It means justice and it means humility. It grows straight up into the sky but is flexible and I relate that to women's spirits. I feel that females have a lot of strength and willpower but we're very flexible. So, in this dance I use five female dancers with long bamboo poles. It's kind of like a ritual ceremony where we celebrate women's lives."

In a fourth dance, entitled "Mirage," Chen's choreography, combined with original music from Grammy winning composer Glen Velez, the audience is transported into the desert as the dancers depict the caravan of the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang province of western China.

"I really wanted to show the spirit of this group of people as well as bring the mystery of the desert scene," Chen said. "So, I open the scene with only one dancer in this desert back drop and he is essentially moving very slowly toward the audience to take them into a dream world; slowly moving toward the climatic celebration."

With seven unique works combined with the diverse cultural backgrounds of herself and her dancers, Chen promises the performance of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has something for everyone.

"My work is very accessible and the choice of pieces are very colorful and can be appreciated by anybody," Chen said. "Certainly a beginner who's never been to dance before will have a great experience. I think they would take home a very special feeling, a certain spirit, which is common throughout the whole program."

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

8 p.m. Feb. 11-12

Old Town Temecula Community Theater, 42051 Main Street, Temecula

$15-$25

866-653-8696

temeculatheater.org