Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company welcomes Year of the Sheep at NJPAC By: Robert Johnson | February 10, 2015

An animal act always opens Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s Chinese New Year celebration at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Two shaggy lion puppets with green top-knots on their heads are the stars of “Double Lions Welcoming Spring,” and you have to feel a little sorry for the pair of acrobats whose job it is to tame them: While they knock themselves out flipping and spinning, it’s hard for them to steal the spotlight from these not-so-fearsome beasts. All the lions have to do is bat their eyelashes or stretch out to nibble their toes, and they own the stage.

Watching these frolicsome characters is not only fun, but also brings good luck. So the audience at

NJPAC, on Saturday, was doubly blessed.

This year Chen’s company inaugurated the Year of the Sheep, and in addition to the lions and the golden-scaled dragon who are her regular visitors, the choreographer also hosted some special guests from the Beijing Dance Academy. “No Boundaries,” a modern piece choreographed by committee, featured Zhung Tian as a black-clad hero whose fierce posturing kept him independent of a close-knit group. Though their comings and goings were fluid, one man had his head pushed down and the group’s attachment felt confining, not supportive. When two dancers seized and lifted Tian, however, he shook himself free and the ensemble scattered.

Other special guests were the jocular Xing Ye Ma, an exponent of “Bamboo Rap” who improvised tongue-twisters on the spot while accompanying himself with bamboo clackers; and Yuequin Chen, an elegant musician who drew twanging melodies from the Chinese lute known as the Ruan. The Nai-Ni Chen Youth Program Dancers were also on hand, taking a larger role in this year’s performance as youngsters of different ages multiplied the spiky attitudes of the “Peacock Dance,” and whirled through “Why Are the Flowers So Red?,” a circular dance from Xinjiang.

The folk material on these programs can be pure eye candy — banners rippling exuberantly and colored ribbons weaving through the air — or it can display intriguing particularities. In the harvest dance called “Gu Ze Yung Ge,” the man, Guixhuan Zhuang, adopted a sturdy posture, half-seated with feet planted wide apart, his body swaying from side-to-side. His sprightly companion, Min Zhou, manipulated a fluttering fan. When folk dances like these are shown alongside Chen’s contemporary works, viewers can observe how elements like the rhythm of a shuffling walk or hands poised delicately in opposition can become the building blocks of a new repertoire.

Saturday’s program reprised Chen’s “Peach Flower Landscape,” with alluring women in diaphanous robes drifting to the sound of a bamboo flute; and the more aggressive “Whirlwind,” a dance that balances images of struggle and contemplation.

Photo: Joseph Wagner

New Year celebrated with dance mix By Niu Yue | January 26, 2015

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company blends beauty of East, West on stage

One of the top Chinese-American-owned dance groups in the US staged a celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year by combining Chinese traditional dances with Western styles.

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performed its second Lunar New Year Celebration at the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts on Sunday. Founded in 1988, the group, whose members are ethnically diverse ranging from China to Italy,aims to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western culture, something they did gracefully in this show.

The performance started with a salute to Chinese Lunar New Year with Double Lions Welcoming Spring,a version of the popular Lion Dance in China with interaction between the lion character and the other dancers.

Next was an excerpt fromPeach Flower Landscape,a dance drama portraying a peaceful agricultural community living in perfect harmony, signifying the coming Year of the Sheep in the Chinese zodiac. The sheepsignifies quietness, gentleness and peace in Chinese culture.

"It has a beautiful scene at sunset, and dancers wear gold, just like peace flowers in the golden sunlight,"said Nai-Ni Chen, the dance company's founder and choreographer. "That's why I choose this program. It talks about a peaceful land without war.”

The dance drama was also typical in Chen's combination of Western and Oriental culture. The choreography was based on a story written by Tao Yuanming, a Chinese poet from the 4th century. Dancers used techniques fromtaichi to control their breathing and movement.

"Look at how dancers' wrist joints make different gestures and movements. That's purely Chinese,"said Chen. "Western dancers are not as mellow as Chinese, they wouldn't move smaller joints in the body."

"Unbelievable,"said audience member Diane Sears, as the 100-minute show alternated between Chinese tradition and Western contemporary.

After Peach Flower Landscape came dances popular in north and northeastern China for the Gods' blessings for a good harvest and traditional street performances from central China.

Also included in the program was Whirlwind, whose Western-style choreography was inspired by the Silk Road — from Buddhist sculptures in northwestern China to the beauty of India and Central Asia.

About a dozen guest artists from China took part in the performance. Ma Xingye amazed non-Chinese-speaking viewers with his kuaiban or traditional Chinese rap accompanied by percussion from bamboo chips. He could utter around 450 syllables a minute and it needed no translation to be appreciated.

The show concluded with a dragon dance that drew cheers from the audience, more than half of whom were non-Asian.

Following its Sunday premier, the company will stage New Year's-themed school time performances on Monday at Brooklyn College and Wednesday and Thursday at Queens College this week. Another performance is scheduled for February 7 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

The performance is part of the Happy Chinese New Year series sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture, a campaign to celebrate Chinese New Year all over the world, said Wu Zhao, a consul of the Consulate General of China in New York.In addition, China Central Academy of Fine Arts will display works of Chinese artists at Lincoln Center on Feb 17. China's star violinist Tian Jiaxin is expected to perform at Carnegie Hall on Feb 18, Lunar New Year's Eve, and the New York Philharmonic will team up with Chinese musicians for a concert on Feb 24.

 

 

 

 

New York Philharmonic rings in Year of Sheep with concert Feb 25,2015

NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The music swells and subsides in the Avery Fisher Hall of the Lincoln Center, New York. The harmonious blend of cello and sheng, a traditional Chinese reed instrument made of bamboo, creates a magic, seamless sound that takes breath away of the audience.

On Tuesday, the New York Philharmonic rang in the Year of the Sheep with its fourth annual Chinese New Year concert.

Defying the frigid weather, an enormous crowd of revelers, some dressed in traditional Chinese costumes, swarmed into the renowned Avery Fisher Hall to enjoy the first-rate performance.

The interior of the hall was lit red and Chinese lanterns hung from the ceiling of the building's facades, adding to a touch of the festive atmosphere.

"The Spring Festival Overture," Li Huanzhi's traditional work celebrating the Chinese New Year, once again opened the concert, yet still offering a fresh feeling to the audience.

The event also featured the aijieke, a traditional Chinese bowed instrument, played by Gulinaer Yiming, and traditional Chinese folk songs performed by vocalist Lei Jia.

The concert culminated in the duo of cellist Yo-Yo Ma and sheng player Wu Tong.

"It is a very nice combination of wonderful pieces. I think the last two pieces were really my favorites," Marjorie Gurney Hat told Xinhua, referring to the duo of Ma and Tong.

"Sheng is very special, very romantic. It is not unusually done. Yo-Yo Ma's instrument is a very special cello. It has beautiful sound and of course, he is such a wonderful player. And the composer also did a beautiful job, I think," the New Yorker said.

The Philharmonic's salute to the Year of the Sheep also included an outdoor event on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza on Tuesday afternoon.

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company performed the traditional Dragon Dance, and public school students from the National Dance Institute staged folk-inspired dances.

"I love their dancing, it is very colorful and their movements are fluent," said Donna Whitley, who comes from North Carolina and now lives with her daughter in New York City.

The retired dance teacher told Xinhua that she even brought her grandson here to see the performance, who also enjoyed the dance a lot.

The concept of Lunar Chinese New Year seems to seep into ordinary Americans' lives. The 13 year-old dancer, Flor Massey, told Xinhua that she and her family this year danced together to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival.

"I also taught them how to use chopsticks," said Massey, who chose ballet and Chinese dance as two of her favorites.

 

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Celebrating Chinese New Year: serpentine dancers greet the Year of the Snake

February 5, 2013 By Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger The lions who announce the Chinese New Year are large enough to hold two people inside, but they’re not man-eaters.

They’re adorable puppets with orange fur and painted heads. When they snap at a toy, their jaws shut with a dull, wooden clap.

These lions don’t need to roar. Just being a lion puppet is enough. "The lions chase away evil and bring good luck for the coming year," says choreographer Nai-Ni Chen, whose Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company celebrates the Lunar New Year with a program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark this weekend.

"Double Lions Welcoming the Spring" is a favorite item on these concerts, which combine colorful traditions from Chinese dance and opera with music, acrobatics and a taste of Chen’s contemporary work. Since the incoming year is the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac, the festivities will have a serpentine theme.

A highlight will be an excerpt from the opera "Legend of the White Snake." The White Snake is a beautiful goddess who, in the dramatic finale, must battle with the Crane and with the Deer to obtain a sacred

herb that will save her husband’s life.

Chen says that Ying Chan Li, who specializes in the female warrior roles known as "Wu Dan," will play the White Snake in an ornamental headdress that an expert dresser needs two hours to assemble. "You’re going to see fantastic costumes," she promises.

Less spectacular but still charming, 15 children from the Nai Ni Chen Dance Company’s youth ensemble will perform "The Golden Snake," a ribbon dance whose undulating patterns follow the snake’s slithering path.

An ensemble of six women will perform the rhythmic "Coin-stick Dance" of the Bai cultural minority, shaking wands that double as musical instruments. New company member Ying Shi will be the featured soloist in "The Song of the Water Lily."

Folk dances such as this one, Chen says, are choreographed

by teams and taught throughout China after making an appearance at national competitions. The authentic parts of the dance, she says, are the turns and spirals that appear as the dancer coordinates the movements of her head and hands with small running steps. The double fan that spreads to resemble a blossoming flower is a modern invention, however.

The men of the company will have a chance to remove their lion costumes and stretch in a new version of Chen’s contemporary piece "Whirlwind," based on her experiences traveling the old Silk Road in China.

While this piece remains a work in progress, Chen says she has added an athletic section for the men inspired by Mongolia’s favorite sports: wrestling and horseback riding. "To them the horse is sacred. A lot of the movements are very bold." "Whirlwind" has music by Glen Velez.

Audience members can also sign up to attend a Chinese New Year Banquet, following the show on Sunday. Chen says she keeps the banquet in mind when programming the dances. Balancing flavors is the key.

Photo: Carol Rosegg

The Right Dragon for the New Year January 26, 2012 By Pia Catton

With its Chinese New Year Celebration on Tuesday night, the New York Philharmonic may have launched a new tradition. The evening was the first time the orchestra set a gala event around the Chinese holiday, and the new addition to the social calendar raised more than $1 million.

The evening also expanded the Philharmonic's outreach efforts: about two-thirds of the gala guests were first-time donors or ticket buyers. "We've had a large turnout from the Chinese community," said gala co-chair Lizabeth Newman.

On a fashion note, the evening's theme allowed for guests to wear some of their boldest, most colorful finery. "New Yorkers are always so head-to-toe black," said attendee Harold Koda, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. "It lets women wear all their color. It really lights up the room."

Embroidered coats and red silk dresses, such as one worn by board member Karen LeFrak, were abundant, but the brightest color of the night came from the yellow-and-green dragon manned by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.

"I said: 'We need a dragon.' [Gala co-chair] Shirley Young found the right dragon," said Ms. LeFrak.

The evening's program was a surprising step above standard gala fare. Led by guest conductor Long Yu of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, the N.Y. Philharmonic played several works of Chinese orchestral music that illustrated how percussion and strings can be employed with Eastern inflection. Celebrated pianist Lang-Lang playing a rousing Liszt concerto, but the show-steeling act was the Quintessenso Mongolian Children's Choir, a group of 22 children aged 8 to 12 from Northeastern China's Hulun Buir Grassland. Dressed in traditional tribal costumes, they were adorable just standing in their stage stances, but their performance of folk songs and nursery rhymes—plus their encore of "America the Beautiful"—showed them to be artists in the making.

Following the concert, guests sat down to dinner on the second-floor lobby of Avery Fisher Hall. Soprano Renee Fleming, who attended as a guest, enthusiastically greeted one of the concert's soloists, Junqiao Tang, who had turned playing the traditional bamboo flute into an act of grace and glamour.

Though the evening overlapped with President Obama's State of the Union address, the subject didn't seem to weigh too heavily after the concert.

"I'll read it in the paper," Ms. Newman said. "I did have one guest who was invited to attend the speech, and I said, 'You should go to that.'"

Traditional Dragon Dance on the Josie Robertson Plaza at the New York Philharmonic's first-ever Chinese New Year Gala concert. Credit: Chris Lee

NJPAC Brings Arts Education to Life with 'Dragon' A recent performance of Year of the Dragon by the Nai-Ni Dance Company was followed by a Q&A and a workshop for children. January 26, 2012 By Mary Mann NJPAC wants New Jersey to know that it's not just for grown-ups.

Newark's downtown jewel is well-known for its world-class entertainment — hosting symphony orchestras, jazz greats and touring companies of Broadway hits. But did you know it boasts the nation's fourth largest arts education program for school-age children? NJPAC's comprehensive Arts Education Department consists of several divisions providing programs for children ages 3-18, their families and schools. Each season, the programs serve over 100,000 individuals. NJPAC's mission is to "continually explore innovative ways to use its resources to serve New Jersey students and educators." This was evident on Sunday, Jan. 22 during a special Verizon Passport to Culture FamilyTime series perfomance of Year of the Dragon by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. First, the principal of the Oliver Street School in Newark was in attendance. NJPAC has been bringing arts education programs to the school. After the perfomance — which included traditional Chinese dance including the "Dragon Dance" as

well as the contemporary Whirlwind I by Glen Velez in collaboration with Nai-Ni Chen — children in the audience had the opportunity to interview the dancers on stage. "How old were you when you started dancing?" one 7-year-old asked Sarah, 14, and Erika, 13, from Nai-Ni Chen's junior company. Next, children and their families where invited to a hands-on workshop with the performers in the Chase Room of the Arts Center, where they made masks and learned some traditional Chinese dances.

Sandra Bowie, NJPAC Vice President of Arts Education, explained how NJPAC arts education programs include arts training, in-school residencies (see Seth Boyden School's Dancing Classrooms program), and schooltime perfomances. For the FamilyTime perfomances, NJPAC also provides Teacher's Resource Guides that are written for use by teachers who bring their classes to performances. Observing the room full of dancing children, Bowie said, "They're having fun and they're learning!"

Photos: Mary Mann

NJPAC’s FamilyTime Performance Series Offer So Much More Than A Show Wednesday, Jan 25, 2012 By Georgette Gilmore

Last Sunday, I was invited to take my family to NJPAC to see the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s Show. I was so grateful for the invite and jumped at the chance to take my 8-year-old. She has been learning Mandarin as part of Nisuane’s Mandarin program since kindergarten, I love dance and it was the start of the Lunar New Year, so it was a perfect opportunity for both of us.

If you haven’t been to NJPAC yet, what are you waiting for? No seriously? It’s a beautiful space with great shows. The truth is, I have been there many times, but only once before for a family show. I took my girls to a Dan Zanes show a couple of years ago. But this was the first time that I, or my daughter, got to experience a FamilyTime performance, which includes either a pre- or a post-show workshop.

After the show, which we both really enjoyed, we were invited to the workshop. My daughter and a group of other children were greeted by a man from Nai-Ni Chen. He talked about Chinese New Year and the year of the dragon. He discussed the other Chinese Zodiac animals and then showed the kids his own Lion mask he made out of a paper plate and some construction paper. The kids were excited to get to work and created their own Chinese Lions. Once they were complete he had the kids take their masks over to an open area and taught them a traditional Lion Dance. The kids, and their photo snapping parents, loved it.

Next, we were honored by Ms. Nai-Ni Chen herself, who handed out ribbons and taught the kids a traditional Chinese ribbon dance.

The workshop, which included arts & crafts, cultural lessons and dance lasted about an hour. My daughter had a blast and was so proud when Ms. Chen told her she was impressed with her Mandarin pronunciation when she wished her a Happy New Year. It was a great experience.

NJPAC’s FamilyTime Programs serve students PreK-12th grade, and families with children ages 3 to 18. NJPAC also provides curriculum materials, professional

development workshops, pre-performance workshops, and meet-the-artist sessions, all designed to reinforce the educational value of each program.

Dancing for the dragon: Nai-Ni Chen celebrates Chinese New Year in Newark

Saturday, January 21, 2012 By Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger Celebrating the Chinese New Year with the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, audiences can count on seeing friendly lions, nimble acrobats and a dragon puppet that snakes in at the end, bringing prosperity and good luck. This weekend’s “Year of the Dragon” program, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, will be no exception, its repertoire of dances enlivened by the chime of “coin-sticks” and the ripple of colorful streamers. A “Feast of the Dragon King” banquet follows the matinee performance on Saturday. “You can express joy in different ways,” Chen says, however, explaining why her New Year’s program also features the premiere of “Whirlwind I,” a contemporary piece inspired by the choreographer’s travels along the old Silk Road in China. “The traditional dances, of course, are bright and entertaining,” Chen adds. “But I think the audience will be ready for a change by the second half. Personally, I can’t just watch short, joyful pieces for two hours. I need something that makes me think.” The “Dragon Dance” will be more populous than ever this year, reinforced by students

from Chen’s new junior company in Matawan. Chen herself will don flowing robes to perform her stylish solo, “Dance of the Heavenly Flower Maiden,” with movements based on the Beijing Opera classic. Harvesters will frolic. In the comic “Wedding Chamber” skit, by guest choreographer Ji-Gong Zhang, a bride and groom will nervously make each other’s acquaintance. Yet this Chinese New Year celebration, with live assistance from the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, offers more than picturesque folklore. “Whirlwind I,” a collaboration between Chen and award-winning percussionist and composer Glen Velez, will introduce young audience members to a slice of world history, and to the desert landscape that Silk Road traders once traversed in caravans. When Chen began to explore the ancient route last summer, however, she traveled comfortably by train and automobile, departing from the

legendary city of Xi’an and journeying West to Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Province, then north to the border of Kazakhstan. Along the way, she noted the mix of ethnic groups that is one legacy of the trade route; in addition to observing local dances, she saw many whirlwinds. Chen says she got “a very spiritual feeling,” as the wind took up the desert sands and began to waltz with them, and as she thought about how many individuals had trod the path before her. The whirlwind is a symbol of life—the “Great Breath of the universe,” Chen says, explaining why the dancers also vocalize in her production. In workshops, Velez taught the cast to sing and introduced them to the percussive rhythms of Central Asia. Chen says her movements all grew from this breathing technique. Velez’s musical ensemble, the Ta Ka Di Mi Project, will accompany the premiere live. “This piece is like a journey passing through different countries, and maybe from the past to the present to the future,” Chen says. “Everything has life and energy, even the rocks and the sand. How does nature perceive us? I put myself in the mind of the earth.”

February 09, 2011

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

iDANZ Critix Corner Official Dance Review by Sasha Deveaux Performance: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Choreographer: Nai-Ni Chen Venue: Baruch Performing Arts Center Performance Date: March 14, 2009 www.iDANZOnline.com

Dance Review: Nai-Ni Chen’s Company Rides Magnificently on Cloud Nine at Baruch PAC

Celebrating twenty years of Chinese traditional and contemporary dance magic, Nai-Ni Chen's company enchants and amazes this past Saturday at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. A former member of Cloud Gate and a native of Taiwan, Chen has the stunning ability to fuse her Chinese heritage with her experience as an American immigrant, a fusion that creates her unique voice in dance. Nai-Ni Chen's diligently composed art is

vividly alive in her dancers’ bodies. The two repertory works, Calligraphy II (1995) and Bamboo Prayer (1998), mesh well with the three premiers of Crosscurrent, Q (Quest) and the breathtaking Mirage. The dancers, who perform at forty venues a year, have crystal clear movement and are perfectly in tune with Nai-Ni’s vision. Her movement style is not only deeply visceral, but also possesses a rare combination of impressive dancer physicality, choreographic vision and universal chi (energy). The backbone of Nai-Ni’s company is her impeccable artistry and storytelling genius. Her pieces softly grab you as they elevate Chinese culture and illustrate the beauty of the modern dance vernacular. This lucky audience continues to experience the ingenious art from start to finish as the talented company executes her mastery. In Calligraphy II (1995), the stage is draped in black muslin strips with white Chinese calligraphy. The piece has been reworked several times according to sources, and the evolution has fruited fine results. The work opens with a single dancer tracing a choreographic sequence that is reminiscent of tai-chi. More dancers appear, and the same strength is seen in their bodies as they define space with clear intentions. The work builds slowly, as if teaching the audience the patience that is required to practice calligraphy. Eventually, one settles in and takes in the energy or “chi”, which is evident in all the movements. Nai-Ni appears on stage in this piece with long silk sleeves and performs a striking solo. She is a captivatingly beautiful to watch as she puts her stunning technique on display. Her performance breathes life into the Asian dance styles while showing her love of dancing them. The ribbon dance is the highlight of Calligraphy II as color after color cuts through the space, flying through air and encircling the dancers’ bodies. Ribbon dancers say, "to watch the end of the

ribbon, to see the clarity of the performer." There are no weak strokes on stage in Nai-Ni’ Chen's company. Bamboo Prayer (1998) is a seminal work about the resilience of women and the nobility of bamboo, each symbolic of the other. The long twelve foot poles stand erect in the beginning as the dancers just makes them quiver. Each section builds and is more beautiful than the last as the poles divide the space and compliment the bodies of the women. Each pole is bent, beaten and lain on top of the other. The dance highlights the versatility of bamboo and the subtle power of the female frame. If women are like the bamboo as Nai-Ni describes through movement, then more power to us! Another standout work is the premiere of Q for “Quest”. Singling out one dancer is difficult as all the company members are worth the ticket. However, Noibis Licea from Cuba takes the audience to another level when he starts his solo. Blessed with full bodied flexibility and amazing focus, he captivates with every movement. The work expresses primal angst as he beats his bare chest. His lines are beautiful, especially in the movements that pitch sideways before flawlessly returning to center. It is unclear why, with a piece entitled ‘quest’, Nai-Ni keeps the dancer confined to such a small space. Yet, Noibis breaks through the limited space with his moments of intense passion before resolving the piece on a quieter note as he walks slowly in a circle around himself. Chen's latest work, Mirage, takes a journey on the Silk Road through the eastern-most part of China’s Xinjiang province. The piece is reminiscent of a time spent in Egypt where the road ahead constantly blurs, and the dusty heat creates dancing visions. The trace imagery of Indian dance styles is seen as the dancers beat their heels on the floor and snake their heads from side to side. The dancers, grouped together in three rows, move hypnotically closer and then further away. They sway and then join bodies in order to become multi-limbed spirits. Nai-Ni uses the color of parched earth to introduce visions of sweltering heat. Clever invention shows itself in the layering of costumes, which includes a transition from velvet textured browns to overlaid skirts of deeper blue and watery purple. Nai-Ni returns to the stage to dance the dance that represents the curious state of not knowing if the vision is real, but not caring. Her watery presence marks the transition into fantasy. Each section holds something up before your eyes that is joyous and mesmerizing. The driving score from Glen Valez has so many layers, and the dancers animate each one beautifully. The trios are hypnotic as each dancer moves together, but individually catches different highlights in the music. This gives their performance an improvisational and illusive rhythmic feel. I love this!

Nai-Ni Chen is the rare modern-dance choreographer who choosesnature as a frequent subject. Ms.Chen trained in traditional Chinesedance in her native Taiwan and hasstudied and taught modern dance inNew York since 1982. The dancesher impressive young company per-formed on Saturday night at the LaGuardia High School theater as partof the Fiorello Summer DanceFestival stood out for their remark-ably smooth blend of the new and theold, as well as for their confident,intensely personal approach to nature.

Ms. Chen has been criticized for thesameness of her dances. The fivepieces she presented here wereunvarying in tone. But she has a suresense of craft. Each dance builtsteadily toward a quiet or emphaticclimax, with eddying undercurrentsof movement stirring a quiet surface.The best, and most ambitious, exam-ples of those internal dynamic shiftswere Ms. Chen’s signature piece,“Calligraphy II,” danced to music byJoan La Barbara, and “Echoes ofCrimson,” a new group piece set tomusic by Siegried Fink.

Such tonal shifts are the theme ofthe new dance, which begins with asolo for a woman seeking her way inspace and then moves throughincreasingly percussive groupdances to a heightened emotional

traditional Balinese gamelan music,evoked sunrise in a rain forest insoutheast Asia. The exquisite Ms.Lam, a small, deft dancer capable ofluxurious large movement, managedto embody light in the solo’s spiral-ing turns, abrupt small jumps andsoft opening arms. Her gold bodiceand skirts were designed by KarenYoung. The company also includedMs. Chen, Yufen Kung, Mei-Yin Ngand Long Zhao.

quality and a last moment for theseeker, alone onstage. “Echoes ofCrimson” was performed by WalterDundervill, Gennevieve Lam, DavidCho, Khamla Somphanh, MichaelTeichmann, Catherine Green andSu-Chen Lin.

Ms. Chen drew the viewer almostimperceptibly into her visions of thenatural world in the three dancesthat completed the program. Thenew “Sunrise Passage,” danced to

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The World OfNature, FreshlyPerceived

DANCE REVIEW

BY JENNIFER DUNNING

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Nai-Ni Chen paints with a widerbrush and a more concentratedpalette. Her program at the Joyce,part of the Altogether Differentfestival, used fundamental com-ponents of historic Asian culture(bamboo, calligraphy, the I Ching)as sources for kaleidoscopicdances of muscle and liquidity. Asection of Bamboo Passage hadwomen in golden yellow manipu-lating yielding, resilient wands tomagical effect. A remarkablesolo of warlike gymnastics forDaniel Giel expressed an elemen-tal male energy in Qian Kun. Theuse of live music was a particulartreat: a percussion score byWoo Suk Lee for this, and JoanLa Barbara’s eerie vocal flights forCalligraphy II. Like visual poetry,Chen’s phrases, part exoskeletalrigidity, part boneless grace,embodied an epic dignity.

~ Chris Dohse

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VILLAGE VOICE

Bamboo Prayers, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

REVIEW

By KARYN D. COLLINSDANCE WRITER

WEST LONG BRANCH –There are so many levels to savorthe artistry of choreographerNai-Ni Chen that one can belulled into thinking all dance isof such a high quality.

A small, but appreciative crowdwas treated to a superb showcaseof the Chen oeuvre at a perform-ance Saturday night at MonmouthUniversity’s Pollak Theatre.

On one level of watching theChen company, there is the won-der of the dancing itself – light,buoyant, effortlessly smooth,with a terrific flow and ease. It ismovement that seamlessly blendselements of contemporary move-ment, traditional Chinese dance,and even some of the acrobaticmaneuvers of martial arts.

Then, on yet another level, thereare the themes of Chen’s body ofwork, which is as singular as it iscontinually intriguing. In Chen’swork one sees a myriad ofexpressions of the choreograph-er's Chinese background.

Here, there are explorations of nat-ural phenomena, works inspired byancient Chinese legends, as well ascelebrations of important symbolsin Asian cultures – the brush-

strokes of calligraphy, the all-pur-pose utilitarianism of bamboo, theredolent fragrance of incense.These elements are more thanmere props. In Chen’s world,seemingly inanimate things suchas these have distinctive and com-plex personalities and energies.

In Chen’s “Incense,” for example,four white-clad dancers movelike tendrils of smoke, slowlyswaying back and forth at first,then moving faster with upwardspirals emanating from leapingspins. As the dancers crisscrosseach other’s paths, one is remind-ed of the way smoke waftsthrough the air cutting unpre-dictable paths through the air.

And then Chen brings anotherlayer to the theme of “Incense,”by moving her dancers into sem-blances of rituals – a womanwalking into the water (depictedby the other three rolling on theground), then lifting a hand sky-wards as if receiving an anointing.

Saturday night’s Monmouth pro-gram was full of such moments –a corps of women enjoying andthen seemingly embodying therefreshing effervescence of afresh rain in “Raindrops,” thealmost electric vibrancy of bam-boo in “Bamboo Prayer.”

In Chen’s “River of Dreams,” oneof the most mesmerizing sectionsfrom Chen’s full evening piece“White Mountain Black Water,”one sees another fascinatingpage in the age-old theme ofmen visited by spirits. Here, afisherman is visited by a spritewhose playful spirit is embodiedin movements that send this fairyfigure scampering up, around,under and even on top of the fish-erman’s fishing pole.

Like everything else in the Chenprogram, “River of Dreams”reminds viewers that dance trulyis magical.

Dance Dreams Come True at Monmouth U.

A S B U R Y P A R K P R E S S

ENTERTAINMENTD3

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