Annika Wong and the Art of Resonance

On October 4–5, 2025, Annika Wong starred in Resonance: An Immersive AAPI+ Dance Event at We Are Here Brooklyn in Bushwick. Presented by Samaw Dance for Filipino American History Month, the two-day festival combined live performance with a night market, cultural activations, and dance installations, creating a space where Asian American and Pacific Islander artists could share work that reflected both heritage and contemporary expression. The event brought together a diverse ensemble of performers who explored identity, ritual, and community through movement.

“Being part of Resonance felt personal,” Wong said. “It’s not only about performance, but about creating a space where our communities can see themselves reflected. That sense of belonging is as important as the choreography itself.”

Earlier in the summer, Wong performed in BalletCollective’s immersive concert-dance The Woods, co-conceived by composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone (San Fermin) and choreographer Troy Schumacher, at Pioneer Works in Red Hook. Described in The New Yorker as a performance where “seventeen dancers and singers surround free-roaming audience members” within a forest-like set designed by Jason Ardizzone-West, the work merged live music and contemporary ballet in an environment that blurred stage and audience.

Pointe Magazine noted the production’s uncanny, cinematic atmosphere: Schumacher envisioned The Woods as “part indie-rock concert, part concert dance, and part theatrical immersive experience,” evoking the dreamlike worlds of Midsommar and The Witch. Wong was featured as one of the ensemble performers who animated the “witchy creatures” of the forest, infusing presence and texture into a work praised for its originality and immersive design. “It was the kind of project where the atmosphere carries you,” she recalled. “The music, the staging, the closeness of the audience—it all demanded that you commit fully, even in moments of stillness. That intensity stays with me.”

Born in Vancouver, Wong trained at Peridance Center, earning a certificate before participating in the OPT residency program, where she developed the technical discipline and adaptability that define her work today. Since spring 2024, she has performed as a lead in The Ride, a 75-minute immersive show staged on a moving tourist bus. Nominated for a Drama Desk Award, the production weaves ballet, hip hop, and tap into multiple acts. Wong performs several times per week in all three styles, contributing both versatility and reliability to a show seen by thousands of visitors. “It’s unusual to dance for an audience that is literally in motion,” she said with a smile. “Every show has surprises—the city becomes part of the performance. It keeps you sharp and adaptable.”

As a choreographer, Wong created the choreography for Mark Blane’s acclaimed Off-Broadway solo show Jason, Medea, and the Tragedy at the PS 19 Talent Show. The show reinterprets Euripides’ tragedy in a modern New York setting; Wong's choreography emphasized the tensions of scandal, grief, and resilience. “Movement can carry what words cannot,” she said. “In this project, my goal was to let the choreography express the emotional undercurrents of betrayal and resilience.”

Wong also performs in The Dynasties!, directed by Preston Mui—a director, choreographer, and movement coach currently performing as George Eacker in Hamilton. Wong portrays “Ann-amy Wong,” a 1930s Chinese American film star, balancing spectacle with critique. “It’s about embodying glamour while also confronting the history of how Asian women were represented on stage and screen,” she explained. “I want the performance to hold both—the joy of dance and the weight of that history.”

Her artistry is shaped by her multicultural background—Chinese father, Scandinavian mother—and early training in traditional Chinese dance before moving into contemporary forms. “Dance is a way to braid cultures together,” Wong said. “It’s not about choosing one tradition over another, but letting them inform how I move, how I choreograph, how I tell stories.”

From immersive concert-dance to Off-Broadway, from cabaret to large-scale tourist productions, Annika Wong’s career illustrates the breadth of a professional dancer and choreographer who navigates multiple traditions and genres with clarity and intent. Reflecting on a year that has already included The Woods and Resonance, Wong said: “I think of each project as a conversation—sometimes with music, sometimes with history, sometimes with an audience I’ll never meet again. What matters to me is that each conversation feels honest.”