Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Celebrates The Year of the Horse at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Company:
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, the renowned international touring dance company founded by Chinese American choreographer Nai-Ni Chen, and now led by Artistic Director Greta Campo and Executive Director Andy Chiang, presents Year of the Horse, a Lunar New Year celebration, on Saturday, February 14 & Sunday, February 15, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), One Center Street, Newark, NJ 07102. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at https://www.njpac.org/event/nai-ni-chen-dance-year-of-the-horse/.
Join Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company for spellbinding family matinee performances as it embraces the spirit of the Year of the Horse 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.
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Year of the Horse Program
Lion in the City
Choreography: Peiju Chien-Pott, Hip Hop Legends Kwikstep and Rokafella with assistance from Yvonne Chow
Music: DJ KS360/Kwikstep and Lion Dance Master Henry Lee
Costume: Peiju Chien-Pott, Rokafella, Javier Valencia of SoHarlem
Dancers: Kathryn Taylor, Sarah Botero, Esteban Santamaria, Lorenzo Guerrini, Caleb Baker
This exhilarating work brings a modern edge to the traditional Chinese New Year celebration. Commissioned by NJPAC, this unique version develops a dialogue between contemporary/Chinese movement and Hip-Hop, celebrating the pioneering spirit of collaboration. The Lion Dance itself is a prayer for peace and harmony on earth, symbolized by a child playing freely with a ferocious beast.
Dai Duet
Choreography: Ying Shi
Music: Dai Minority Folk Music
Dancers: Yuchin “Kiki” Tseng, Madeleine Lee
Inspired by the grace and beauty of the Hua Yao Dai ethnic tradition, this duet portrays two young women like blooming flowers by a quiet riverside. Set to the gentle melody of “Flowing River,” the dancers embody softness, elegance, and youthful purity. Their movements ripple like water, revealing a serene world where the river flows lightly and the girls blossom with delicate charm and tenderness.
Mystic Echos
Choreography: Zhongmei Li
Music: Excerpt from Journey to Silk Road's Dun Huang by Angel Lam (commissioned by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation for Quad City Symphony Orchestra)
Dancers: Yuchin “Kiki” Tseng, Lorenzo Guerrini, Caleb Baker, Kathryn Taylor, Madelyn Sarver, Madeleine Lee, Sarah Botero, Rio Kikuchi, Esteban Santamaria
This spiritually charged ensemble work delves into the iconography of the Tibetan period murals found within the ancient Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Drawing inspiration from the powerful images of Tantric Buddhist deities and the spiritual portraits of Tibetan monarchs and pilgrims, the choreography translates the intricate visual language of the paintings into contemporary movement, exploring themes of transformation, divine protection, and the sublime echoes of devotion.
Mongolian Harvest
Choreography: Lawrence Jin
Music: Chinese Traditional
Dancers: Lorenzo Guerrini, Caleb Baker, Sarah Botero, Yuchin “Kiki” Tseng, Kathryn Taylor, Madeleine Lee, Madelyn Sarver, Esteban Santamaria
Commissioned by NJPAC, this dynamic work captures the essence of the nomadic Mongolian way of life. Known for its powerful footwork and expressive upper-body movements, the dance celebrates the generous spirit of the Mongolian people and their respect for the great prairie. Inspired by the joyful Naadam Festival, the piece portrays aspects of herders' daily activities including milking, cooking and hunting.
Carousel
Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Turtle Island String Quartet
Dancers: Lorenzo Guerrini, Caleb Baker, Candace Jarvis, Yuchin “Kiki” Tseng, Kathryn Taylor, Madeleine Lee, Madelyn Sarver, Esteban Santamaria, Rio Kikuchi, Sarah Botero
Inspired by the dual imagery of playful, dreamlike carousels and the majestic elegance of real horses, this buoyant piece is one of Nai-Ni Chen’s most celebrated abstract works. It explores the flow of energy and the dynamics reminiscent of the brush strokes used in Chinese ink painting, melding childlike wonder with the nobility and pride of equestrian movement.
Festival (Dragon Dance)
Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Chinese Traditional
Dancers: Yuchin “Kiki” Tseng, Madeleine Lee, Madelyn Sarver, Lorenzo Guerrini, Sarah Botero, Caleb Baker, Kathryn Taylor, Esteban Santamaria, Yao Zhong Zhang
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. In this dance, the Dragon descends from heaven and blesses the earth, while colorful ribbons symbolize a prayer for the prosperity of the community.
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Acknowledgement
Programs of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company have been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, The New Jersey Division of Tourism, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, DanceNYC Dance Advancement Fund, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, New Music USA, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, American Dance Abroad, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Cultural Exchange Fund, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, PSEG, Proskauer, WAC Lighting and the Glow Foundation. WQXR is a media partner of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.
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About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a rare Asian American woman led professional touring company with programs for educational settings, community organizations and mainstage venues. The Company's mission is to be a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey. It was founded with the vision that the journey of crossing cultures and adapting to a new home provides endless inspirations and opportunities for creative expressions that can enrich the human experience. Each one of the company’s work is aimed to increase the visibility of the struggle, triumph, despair and joy of this experience. The Company's productions provide authentic experiences and bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality. The Company’s worldwide touring is represented by General Arts Touring, www.generalartstouring.com.
Choreography is developed with dancers from diverse backgrounds, and each rehearsal is an immersive, boundary-crossing journey that contributes to the creative process under the direction of the choreographers. Our repertory of Nai-Ni Chen's original works bridge the grace and power of Asian arts and American dynamism which incorporated her broad influences. The company also preserves a variety of festive dances from different regions of China choreographed by guest immigrant artists bearing their tradition.
The Company began to tour in the early 1990s, originally on the East Coast, and later internationally. The dance company is multi-racial and multi-national and has collaborated with a wide range of artists from different disciplines and cultures. Musical collaborators range from New Music, jazz to classical, they include Joan La Barbara, The Chinese Music Ensemble of NY, Jason Kao Hwang, Huang Ruo, Kenji Bunch, Tan Dun, Glen Velez and most recently, the Ahn Trio. Award-winning designers and visual artists such as Myung Hee Cho, Jay Moorthy, AC Hickox and costume designer Karen Young. These collaborations provided us the opportunity to develop innovative productions that carry the timeless essence of the tradition.
In addition to domestic touring, the company has also performed at international festivals in Mexico, Canada, British Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, South Korea and China with support from Fund for Mutual Understanding, The President’s Committee for the Arts, Arts International and the State Department of the United States. Ms. Chen has received multiple Choreographer’s Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and from New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Her work has also been commissioned by the Joyce Theater Foundation, the Lincoln Center Institute, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Dancing in the Streets, the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and New Jersey Performing Art Center.
Prominent Institutions, including the Lincoln Center Institute, the Joyce Theater, Dancing in the Streets, NJ Ballet, Ballet Met, Dancing Wheels, and Baraka Sele at NJPAC all have commissioned notable works. The most recent tour, “A Quest for Freedom”, developed with the Ahn Trio, premiered at the Philadelphia NextMove Festival. The Company is currently in residence at New Jersey City University’s A. Harry Moore for students with disabilities and in Elizabeth School #26, a school of mostly immigrant children.
About New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the most diverse performing arts center in the country, and the anchor cultural institution for both the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey. It is an artistic, cultural, educational and civic center where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings 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, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC Arts & Well-Being develops initiatives and programs that amplify the health benefits of the arts and measure the impact of the Arts Center on community health and well-being. NJPAC has attracted more than 12 million visitors (including more than two million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit njpac.org for more information.
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Press Contacts:
NJPAC:
April Thibeault | 917.355.8359 | april@amtpublicrelations.com
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company:
Michelle Tabnick | 646.765.4773 | michelle@michelletabnickpr.com
