Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Announces Year Of The Golden Ox In Celebration Of The Chinese Lunar New Year

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company announces Year of the Golden Ox, a family-friendly production on the arrival of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, February 11, 12, and 13, 2021. Year of the Golden Ox is an all-day virtual celebration suitable for children ages 6-15.

A one-hour special celebration that highlights the Company's repertory and guest artist's past notable performances will be featured Thursday, February 11 at 7:30pm. Three one-hour sessions will be offered each day at 11:30am, 3:30pm, and 7:30pm. For more information and to register, visit https://www.nainichen.org/yearofox.

The 2021 Year of the Golden Ox marks the end of the Year of the Rat and the start of a new lunar year. The Chinese Diaspora around the world celebrate the occasion with abundant food, dance, music and festivity lasting a month long. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will celebrate this new beginning with a virtual event steeped in symbolism inherent in the Chinese American immigrant culture, expressing the Company's role in the arts and the culture of the community.

New York metropolitan area audiences have made the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company event an annual tradition in the past 20 years when the Company's productions were presented on the mainstage of NJPAC, Queens College, Brooklyn College and Staten Island. This year, the Company will be presenting the program in partnership with major presenters in NY and NJ. This special online virtual presentation will include the works of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, the Renaissance Chinese Opera Society, Kuaiban Artist XingYe Ma, Kuan Opera actor Yaozhong Zhang, Yonghong Jia and others. The company will perform some of the most treasured traditional dances performed at the Chinese New Year-the Lion Dance and the Dragon Dance. Originated during the Tang Dynasty more than 3,000 years ago, these dances celebrate the coming of the spring and the harmony between nature and humankind. Showcasing the diversity of the traditional and contemporary Chinese performing arts, the company will perform a colorful folk dance from the Xingjian Province, an area near Central Asia on the Silk Road. Instrumental music features Erhu, Ruan, Pipa, Chinese Opera and Kuaiban (a form of rap originated over 200 years ago in Beijing).

The audience will also be able to engage the artists live to discuss the music and dance they saw on stage. The program aims to highlight the beauty, creativity and diversity in Chinese American community by showcasing some of the most respected artists who are advancing and preserving the classical and folk traditions in America. It will be an eye-opening, informative and entertaining experience for audiences of any age.

The program is free, with recommended donation beginning at $10. C Contribution of $50 will receive a Nai Ni Chen Dance Company T-Shirt in the mail. More Info about the performance and the Company can be found online at www.nainichen.org According to the Chinese calendar, family and friends should expect 12 months of joyful abundance in the Year of the Golden Ox. This lively performance to mark the beginning of the year will warm the hearts and delight the senses of audiences of all ages.