The Nai-Ni Chen dance company held its annual dance show at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, CUNY’s Hostos Community College’s performing arts center in the South Bronx, as part of the festivities celebrating Lunar New Year.
The dance company was founded in 1988, in New Jersey, by Taiwanese immigrant dancer Nai-Ni Chen and her husband, Andrew N. Chiang.
It is proudly women-led and features dancers from diverse backgrounds, which reflects on its mission to be “a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey.”
The Lunar New Year begins February 17, marking the Year of the Horse, a symbol of energy, strength, and perseverance.
Nine dancers from the Nai-Ni Chen dance company, as well as eight young girls from New Jersey’s Fa Academy, performed eight dance numbers.
The different choreographies included traditional Chinese dances, but also contemporary work. Starting with a classic Lion Dance mixed with hip hop and ending with a Dragon Dance choreographed by Nai-Ni Chen herself.
A dragon puppet was even available to take pictures with after the show.
Through the show, the audience witnessed dances featuring ribbons, umbrellas and traditional costumes. Several Mongolian pieces were selected for this year’s showcase, like ‘Mongolian Harvest’, choreographed by Lawrence Jin, as they feature dances inspired by the movement of horses, this year’s zodiac emblem.
Traditional Mongolian musician Bayarjargal Chogsom also played three pieces on the morin khuur, also called horsehead fiddle, a traditional two-stringed Mongolian bowed instrument.
The company performs shows every year around the Lunar New Year in the tri-state area.
“It’s a moment to bring everybody together and we look forward to it every year,” said Greta Campo, the artistic director of the company.
“We’re very happy to bring this program to the communities, to families, but also we do it for the students.”
Campo, an Italian dancer, joined the company in 2012, attracted by its international scope. Following Chen’s passing in 2021, she took over her role and aims to keep her legacy going.
Campo explained how important it was for the company to perform in places like the Bronx’s Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, to bring a piece of Chinese culture to communities who rarely get the chance to be exposed to it. “It’s beautiful to see how an international group, especially during this time, can get together and perform works like these,” Campo said.
