- By Mabel Pais
“An outburst of pure joy…nothing less than spectacular.” – NJArts.net
A Newark tradition for over two decades, the Fort Lee-based company Nai-Ni Chen Dance returns to NJPAC to welcome the coming of the Spring of 2025, the Year of the Snake. The NAI-NI CHEN DANCE Company will celebrate the 2025 Lunar New Year of the Snake on Saturday & Sunday, February 1-2, 2025, at 2:00 p.m., at the Victoria Theater of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center Street, Newark NJ, 07102.
Join Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company for spellbinding family matinee performances as it embraces the spirit of the Year of the Snake through the power and beauty of dance. A highlight of the winter season at NJPAC, this annual celebration weaves together graceful movements and vibrant costumes to bring ancient traditions to life. Audiences experience majestic dragons, dancing lions, elegant peacocks, stunning acrobats, twirling ribbons, and much more! In what has become an annual tradition, Nai-Ni Chen helps usher in an auspicious Lunar New Year, surrounded by the warmth of the Newark community, the joy of cultural celebration, and the spirit of renewal. The run time of the show will be 90 minutes including intermission.
Music with authentic Chinese musical instruments will be played in the program, performed by the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York (CMENY). The Company will premiere a new dance for the Year of the Snake with a collaboration using the music, ‘Dances of the Golden Snake.’ The new dance will be created by Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s Director of Traditional Dance and Preservation, Ying Shi. This unique live music/dance using Chinese instruments provides an experience that can only be seen in this program in the United States.
‘LION IN THE CITY’ is based on the traditional Chinese Lion Dance, which is the most popular dance performed in the Chinese New Year Celebration. The Lion Dance is a prayer for peace on earth as a child is able to play with a ferocious beast in harmony. There are many styles of the Lion Dance in China. Last year, the Company was celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop and memorializing the pioneering spirit of Nai-Ni Chen, who began working with Rokafella and Kwikstep in 2017, developing a dialogue between her contemporary/Chinese movement style and hip-hop. This dance was originally commissioned by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2023. It is being repeated by popular demand.
SNAKE DUET (working title) is a new dance based on one of the most important legends about the snake in the Chinese tradition, the Legend of the White Snake. It is a love story about a powerful magical White Snake and her best friend the Green Snake coming to seek eternal love on earth but their journey suffered oppression and rejection for their identity. Long believed to be a story that advocates for women’s status in the traditionally male-dominated, ancient Chinese society, this dance shows the solidarity between the two snake women and their bond of sisterhood.
TIGER AND WATER LILIES was originally commissioned by Ballet Met in Cleveland. Nai-Ni Chen created Tiger and Water Lilies for ballet dancers, with movements that are within the range of contemporary ballet and yet emphasize some of the key aspects of Asian dance movements. The male and female dancers represent contrasting ideas of motion vs. stillness, animal vs. plant and strength vs. beauty.
UNFOLDING is a dance based on the common heritage of the Chinese and Korean people. On the Korean flag is the symbol from I-Ching, the Book of Changes, which describes the laws of the changing universe in ancient China. I-Ching says, “The Tao is ever changing, alternating, moving without rest.” As nature unfolds at a vibrant pace, so does our life’s journey. This dance was originally commissioned by Dancing in the Streets in New York and premiered in the gardens of Wave Hill in the Bronx.
DRAGON FESTIVAL is based on the traditional Chinese Dragon Dance. The Dragon Dance is the most spectacular folk dance performed in the Chinese New Year Celebration. The Dragon carries auspicious powers and nature’s grace. The Chinese Dragon is a spiritual and cultural symbol that represents prosperity and good luck, as well as a water deity that nurtures harmony. It controls rainfall, rivers, and ocean. For those fortunate to see this dance in the Chinese New Year, their coming year will be filled with peace, harmony, and good fortune.
TICKETS
Tickets to celebrate the Year of the Snake Lunar can be purchased by calling 888. G.O.NJPAC (888.466.5722) or visiting the box office or njpac.org/event/nai-ni-chen-dance-company-year-of-the-snake.
The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
NJPAC, located in downtown Newark, N.J., is America’s most diverse performing arts center, and the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey – where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, which have reached almost 2 million children, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted more than 10 million visitors since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.
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Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
The celebration of the Lunar New Year is a spectacular experience for all ages, combining traditional Chinese celebrations with modern flair. The Company dancers, acrobats and musicians evoke the spirit of the Snake with festive costumes in red, gold, blue, and purple colors symbolizing their prayer for a peaceful and harmonious New Year with plenty of prosperity and good fortune. Learn more at nainichen.org.
(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, Business, and Education)