Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Offers Sneak Preview Of A QUEST FOR FREEDOM At APAP

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will present its latest work, A Quest for Freedom, at New York City's City Center Studio 4 on Saturday, January 13 at 7pm and 8pm, and Sunday, January 14 at 12 noon and 12:30pm. The performances will showcase the company's latest collaboration with the renowned Korean American classical music powerhouse The Ahn Trio during the annual conference of the Association of the Performing Arts Presenters. The collaboration, although planned over a years ago, has been influenced greatly by the current discussion on immigration during its development.

Very limited tickets for the public will be available by request from the Company's Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/NaiNiChenDanceCompany/.

Both immigrant artists from Asia, Nai-Ni Chen and the Ahn Trio found each other on their artistic journey and developed several dances and tours together over the past five years. From Taiwan, and an early member of the Cloud Gate Dance Theater and an accomplished master traditional dancer, Nai-Ni Chen came to America to seek a home for her cross-cultural visions and created mesmerizing production that draws from the freedom of the contemporary performances, the flow of Chi in Chinese calligraphy, martial arts, and the spirit of inclusion in America. The Ahn Trio came to America from South Korea as children grew up to become pioneers in new music and were named three of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." The Ahns have built a unique brand that brought alluring magic and passion into the classical music world. A Quest for Freedom is their unique combination that explores the ultimate frontier of American spirit; the reasons for migration, the forces that changed their personal lives and their experiences as immigrant artists working together with other immigrant collaborators to build a new vision for an ever evolving culture of ideas that knows no boundaries. The program will consist of Nai-Ni Chen's choreography for some of the most recent works of the Ahn Trio, including Purple Rain by Prince, Space Oddity by David Bowie.

About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Bringing the dynamic freedom of American modern dance together with the elegant splendor of Asian art, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is one of the most visible Asian American dance companies in America. Ms. Chen's unique choreography transports audiences beyond cultural boundaries to the common ground between tradition and innovation, rising beyond form into the spirit.

One of the few Asian American professional dance company with an extensive season of touring and performing around the world. Nai-Ni Chen has also developed Arts in Education residency programs in school districts to bring culture and arts into educational settings. It's colorful and engaging programs and workshops has reached over one million young audience in NY/NJ area. The Company is currently in-residence at New Jersey City University and has been a Principle Affiliate of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center since its inception.

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has the honor of having received more than fifteen awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Other funders include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; the Hyde and Watson Foundation; Horizon Foundation, The Irving and Laurie Blanchard Foundation; the E.J. Grassman Trust; PSE&G; the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; Verizon; Sony; New Music/USA; Chase Manhattan Bank; the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and others.

For additional Company information, visit our website, www.nainichen.org; write to Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, P.O. Box 1121, Fort Lee, NJ 07024; or call (800) 650-0246.

About the Ahn Trio

Hailed as "exciting musicians" with virtuosity and flair, the three sisters of the Ahn Trio (Lucia on the piano, Angella on the violin and Maria on the cello) have embraced 21st century classical music while redefining the art of chamber music. Born in Seoul, Korea and educated at the Julliard School in New York City, the Ahn Trio brings a new energy and an ever evolving vision of music to the performance stage, whether it be Vienna's Musikverein, New York's Lincoln Center, Beijing's Concert Hall or The White House. In this innovative collaboration with Asian-American choreographer, Nai Ni Chen, the world-class dance company and trio are immersed in the visual element of the pieces, creating a mesmerizing blend of music and dance of sheer aural and visual beauty.