Nai-Ni Chen
Born(1959-10-31)October 31, 1959
Keelung, Taiwan
DiedDecember 12, 2021(2021-12-12) (aged 62)
Kailua Beach, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma materNew York University
Chinese Culture University
Occupation(s)Founder and artistic director, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Years active1988–2021
SpouseAndrew N. Chiang
Children1

Nai-Ni Chen (October 31, 1959 – December 12, 2021) was a Taiwanese-American dancer and choreographer. Trained in traditional Chinese and Taiwanese dance before immigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, she was the founder of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, a dance company which blended traditional and contemporary dance.[1][2]

Biography

Chen was born in Keelung, Taiwan on October 31, 1959, and started dancing when she was four. She studied modern dance, jazz, and Chinese martial arts at a secondary school for the performing arts; as a student, she joined the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan and danced with the company for three years.[3]

In 1982 she moved to New York to attend New York University, where she studied choreography and education. In a 2017 interview she said: “I was so excited about the dancing in New York that I decided to stay rather than teach in Taiwan.”[4]

Chen drowned while on vacation in Hawaii on December 12, 2021.[3][5] She and her husband Andrew N. Chiang had one daughter, Sylvia.[1]

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Chen and her husband, Andrew N. Chiang, founded Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in 1988 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where she lived with her family.[6][4][3] In addition to Chen's original works, which incorporated her broad influences, the company performed traditional fan dances and ribbon dances. Productions frequently include a hybrid fusion with traditional Chinese dance.[7][8] They began to tour in the early 1990s, originally on the East Coast, and later internationally. The dance company was multi-racial and multi-national. Her dances were inspired by nature, which she described as the "Chinese way and philosophy," stating that her choreography emphasized the relationship and harmony between people and nature.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Genzlinger, Neil (2021-12-13). "Nai-Ni Chen, Whose Dances Merged East and West, Dies at 62". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-14. Republished as: "World-renowned dancer Nai-Ni Chen dies after she is found unconscious at Kailua Beach". Star Advertiser. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Staff, H. N. N. "Internationally renowned dancer dies in apparent drowning off Oahu". Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nai-Ni Chen Passed Away On December 12th in Honolulu". 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  4. 1 2 La Gorce, Tammy (2010-01-30). "Opening Doors With New and Old". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  5. ↑ "Dance on the Lawn mourns death of dance artist Nai-Ni Chen". Montclair Local. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Announces 2021-2022 Season". 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  7. ↑ Cutler, Jacqueline (2021-09-09). "N.J. dance troupe morphs pandemic fears into joyful performance". Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  8. ↑ Nash, Margo (2001-10-14). "JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS; Celebrating the Moon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
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