Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company to Celebrate Lunar New Year Year Of The Horse

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will celebrate Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse with a lineup of performances in NYC, New Jersey, and more. In honor of the Year of the Horse, the Company, with artistic director Greta Campo at the helm, will present two world premieres by choreographers Lawrence Jin and Zhongmei Li.

Welcome the Lunar New Year with Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company! This year, the celebration embodies the passion and energy of the Horse. Bring the whole family for a display of Chinese dance, contemporary dance, acrobatics, costumes and live music. With graceful movements and intricate choreography, the talented performers evoke the spirit of the Chinese New Year.

Lunar New Year Performances:

January 18 - February 25, 2026 - Lunar New Year Celebration Tour

Celebrating the Year of the Horse (World Premiere Program)

Featuring premieres by Lawrence Jin and Zhongmei Li, this program blends traditional symbolism and contemporary vision. Audiences will experience the powerful Lion Dance-a centuries-old ritual invoking good fortune and driving away evil spirits -and the spectacular Dragon Dance, historically performed to summon rain, prosperity, and good luck-and associated with imperial authority, wisdom, and auspiciousness. The program also includes live music on authentic Chinese instruments and a lobby display of Lunar New Year cultural crafts, offering a multi-sensory immersion into Chinese traditions.

■ Jersey City Theatre Center, White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ (Jan 18)

■ College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY - presented by Enrichment Through the Arts (Jan 26-27)

■ Kupferberg Center for the Performing Arts, Queens, NY (Feb 1)

■ Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, Toms River, NJ (Feb 4-5)

■ Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, Bronx, NY (Feb 7-8)

■ New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ (Feb 14-15)

■ McLean Community Center, McLean, VA (Feb 18)

■ Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA (Feb 25)

About the New Works

To honor the Year of the Horse, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presents two major new works:

● Lawrence Jin, a native of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia and graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, will present a newly revised version of Mongolian Festival, celebrating northern China's nomadic horseback culture. Jin's storied career includes principal roles with the Beijing Youth Dance Company and Bella Lewitzky Dance Company; today, he teaches at FA Dance School in New Jersey and continues to contribute to cultural exchange through choreography.

● Zhongmei Li will present an excerpt of Ultimate Journey, a forthcoming full-evening piece inspired by the Dunhuang Caves' ancient murals from the Silk Road era, evoking themes of cultural exploration, spiritual passage, and the transformative spirit embodied by the horse archetype.