South Orange Performing Arts Center Presents Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company In AWAKENING

The South Orange Performing Arts Center proudly presents the award-winning Nai-Ni Chen dance company in a 60-minute virtual presentation Saturday, April 10 at 7:30PM. Sponsored by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received more than 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Tickets are $10, and free for SOPAC members.

To purchase tickets, contact SOPAC at (973) 313-2787 or visit https://www.sopacnow.org/events/nai-ni-chen-dance-company/. The Box Office is currently available by phone M-F, 12-4 p.m.

Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the hope and energy of the immigrant's journey. The company's ground-breaking works have focused on themes from ancient Chinese legends that reflect issues of the present time to purely abstract, contemporary dances inspired by the art of Chinese calligraphy. An Asian-American company that celebrates the cross-cultural experience, the Company's productions bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality.

The featured dances include two world premieres along with two works created in 2019. The program will also feature an interview with Nai-Ni Chen by renowned dance critic Robert Johnson. She speaks about her inspiration and the deeper themes of each dance, further enhancing audience appreciation of her works.

Luminescence (premiere) was created in response to the choreographer's increasing dependence on the power of nature to be physically and mentally resilient during the pandemic. The dance is her ode to nature's grace, magic and wonder where she found sanctuary. Through this dance, Nai-Ni Chen wishes to remind us that humans coexist with other life forms on earth. To discover the beauty in nature and to respect and protect the environment is essential to our continued survival.

Shadow Force (premiere) is one of the darkest dances the choreographer has made as she witnessed the struggle of the country and its people to stay united under powerful forces from different sides.

Truth Bound (2019) was developed during a residency in Trier, Germany in reaction to the crisis of faith and trust today utilizes newspapers as costume and Chen herself as the seeker on a journey. German dance critic Eva-Maria Reuther of Volksfreund said: "Using their body and visual language sensitively created fantasy and poetry. Tradition and experimentation are combined with precision and dynamics."

Introspection (2019) is a new work where the choreographer, in response to the call for equity and justice, is looking at her company, her dancers and her own identity. As each dancer illuminates each other with lights of their own, the audience and dancers begin to see the same person from different perspectives.

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