AAPI Dance Festival at APAP

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) are pleased to present an evening of beautiful, diverse, and vibrant AAPI Dance with performances from the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, J CHEN PROJECT, and H+ | House of Chow.

Please note this is Day 1 of a two-day festival. Day 2 is on Sunday, Jan 15 at Ailey Citigroup Theater (more info here). If you would like to attend BOTH DAYS, we encourage you to reserve a 2-Day Pass at the special price of $30. We hope you’ll join us for both showcases!

Program:

7:30 pm – Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

“Like endlessly proliferating forces of cosmic energy” says the New York Times. This showcase celebrates the diversity of the dances from the iconic Asian American choreographer Nai-Ni Chen. From her traditional repertoire comes a beautiful, traditional Triple Peacock Dance with music by composer Tao Chen highlights the beauty of nature; Incense, a deeply spiritual contemporary dance reflecting on her memory of the corridor of an ancient temple where incense was burned to send a message to the Gods. The showcase will end with an excerpt from Mirage, celebrating Nai-Ni Chen’s journey into the Silk Road where she witnessed the dynamism of the dances of the Uyghur people and the powerful whirlwind of the Gobi Desert. Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is represented by Red Shell Mgmt in booth 209, Rhinelander Gallery in the APAP Conference at the Hilton.

Incense (excerpt)
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Joan La Barbara
Costumes: Karen Young
Lighting Design: A.C. Hickox
Dancers: Candace Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Esteban Santamaria, Evan Stewart

This dance was originally inspired by the sculpture titled Nine Muses by Carlos Dorian installed at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. The choreographer also draws ideas from the offering of incense in the long corridors of an ancient temple from her childhood. The rising white clouds of the incense is said to bring the believer’s prayer from their hearts to God’s ears. The music reminds her of the mystical elements of nature and the more abstract, formal elements that gives structure to our faith and thus our lives.

Peacocks Under the Moonlight
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Dai Minority Folk Music for Hulusi (a reed instrument from the Yunnan Province)
Dancers: Rio Kikuchi, Namhui Kim, Sarah Botero

There are more than 55 ethnic groups living in China, and each group has unique dances and music. The peacock is considered a sacred bird among the Dai people in the Yunnan province. Because of the performers’ supreme grace and elegance as peacocks, this dance is one of the most beautiful from that province. Many of the movements in this piece derive from real actions of the peacock, such as drinking water, walking, running, and grooming its feathers. The solo musical instrument for this dance: hulusi was originally used primarily in Yunnan province by the Dai and other non-Han ethnic groups but is now played throughout China. Like the related free reed pipe called Bawu, the hulusi has a very pure, clarinet-like sound.

Mirage (Excerpt)
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Composer: Glen Velez
Lighting Design: Carolyn Wong
Costumes: Jon Can Coskunses
Dancers: Greta Campo, Candance Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Namhui Kim, Evan Matthew Stewart, Esteban Santamaria, Kyle H. Martin.

Inspired by the unique rhythms and dance movement of the Uyghur people of
Xinjiang, Ms. Chen created a new movement vocabulary for this dance. Its tranquility and passion evoke the images of the desert area and the people who lived in oasis towns. The music for this dance was commissioned by the American Music Center which has been renamed New Music/USA.

8:00 pm – J CHEN PROJECT

This program aims to elevate the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) experience at a turning point in American history. It fosters healing, learning, and connection through the power of dance. It aims to deconstruct old forms to reclaim and demarginalize AAPI stories by reimagining the past, present, and future through an Asian American cultural lens.

Reclaim
Choreography by Jessica Chen
Sound design by PaprTape
Danced by Maya Lam, Tsubasa Nishioka, Carl Ponce Cubero

Choreographer’s Note: For three generations, my family sought safety and a place to call home. With this new work, I am exploring what parts of our stories, identities, and culture we lose when moving from land to land to land. I dedicate this work to my maternal grandfather, 周伯達 Po-Ta Chou, whom I called YeYe. He was a warrior, a leader, and an honorable man. This work was commissioned by the New York Chinese Cultural Center, and created in residence at the Museum of Chinese in America.

I Can Almost See You
Choreography by Jessica Chen
Sound design by PaprTape
Costume design by Erica Johnston
Danced by Chieh Hsiung

Choreographer’s Note: A solo piece featuring a bamboo hat from the Chinese ethnic minority Dai Zu. The choreography blends Western movements with traditional Chinese folk dance.

You Are Safe
Choreography by Jessica Chen
Sound design by PaprTape
Costume design by Lui Konno
Danced by Kathy Liu, Maya Lam, Sumire Ishige, Chieh Hsiung, Carl Ponce Cubero, Tsubasa Nishioka

Choreographer’s Note: You Are Safe is a response to the 2020-2021 escalation in xenophobia and bigotry targeting Asian Americans. This work was commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America as part of their exhibition Responses: Asian American Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism.

8:30pm – H+ | House of Chow

H+ | House of Chow presents #UnapologeticallyAsian, a dance homage in four acts dedicated to our ancestors’ dreams, to our parents’ dreams, and to our dreams. This Hip-Hop Dance repertory piece elucidates the complex conversation on establishing a legacy that honors our past, is relevant to the present, and sustains into the future for all Asians. Join us on an emotional journey that explores cultural traumas both experienced and inherited, their effect on the current generation of Asians, and the paving of a bold path towards a life unapologetically lived. Learn more @house.of.chow or hdcny.org/houseofchow

Since 2018, #UnapologeticallyAsian has manifested as the advocacy campaign of H+ | House of Chow®, the Asian (American) Division of the dance NGO, The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory. It’s been featured on Dreamer. Lover. Fighter. Dancer.®, Sinovision TV, Asian Americans in 2018 Conference, East Coast Asian American Student Union Conference 2019, “Survive. Strive. And Thrive”, “JuXtapose” Speaker Series, and more! Learn more at hdcny.org/houseofchow

CHARACTERS

“Ruby” (as child): Brenda Lin
“Ruby” (as adult): Aliyah Ali

The Three Wise Monkeys
“Mizaru” (see not): Neha Sharma
“Kikazaru” (hear not): Yvonne Chow
“Iwazaru” (speak not): Sun Kim
“Sezaru” (do not): Shayna Malhotra

ACT SYNOPSIS

ACT I | “FORGETTING”

Vignette I: Microagression #510
We begin with one of the most common modern day microagressions, the question, “Where are you really from?” A question that is not out of neutral curiosity, but rather an insinuation that we, as racialized bodies, do not truly come from or belong in the United States, and need to be identified as such.

Vignette II: An Ode to our Ancestors’ Dreams
We travel back in time to visit what our ancestors endured in the US until present day; from The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) to the Anti-Filipino Riots (1927 - 1930) to “The Chinese Virus” (2020).

Vignette III: Calling In Our Ancestors
We call in our ancestors to this performance through our voices and through the creation of an altar. We ask them to join us as we open our minds, bodies, and spirits to their stories and its lineage to our stories.

Vignette IV: An Ode to our Parents’ Dreams
We empathize with our parents’ dreams, many of whom immigrated to the United States for The American Dream. We explore the “forgetting” that must happen to survive in a new country. We sense the grief that may be stored in their body and create space for it to live in this moment, to allow our parents to fully remember. We imagine what it may be like if they had more support, more understanding, more resources.

Vignette V: An Ode to Our Dreams
We land on the West Coast, in California, which holds the highest Asian American population in the US. We recognize the undeniable impact the culture and music of Hip-Hop and subgenres like Gangsta Rap had on the Asian American community. And how in some ways we wore this culture in search for an identity that spoke to our generations’ straddling of our ethnicity and our nationality.

ACT II | REMEMBERING

Vignette I: Microaggression #415
We meet “Ruby,” an Asian American youth growing up in California. She arrives home from school and starts with her routine of listening to and taking messages for her parents.

We explore a second microaggression, the racist condescension that often mires the administering of “English as a Second Language” as well as the complexities that come with children of immigrants taking and translating messages for their parents.

Vignette II: Trauma Response
We witness how “Ruby” feels after listening to her answering machine. We also meet “Ruby” in her 20s who talks about how moments like the microagression in the last scene, have affected her as an adult. The “trauma” is danced through the leitmotif of “The Three Wise Monkeys,” putting into physicality how it might feel to be triggered, spiral, and have fragmented thoughts.

Vignette III: Microaggression #650
We find Ruby in her classroom at school. The teacher conducts roll call, mispronouncing the names of most of the people of color, making insensitive comments about their names, and then changing or giving them nicknames to satiate her Anglosaxon linguistic palette.

This third microaggression points to the often quick ways in which the dominant culture erases the culture of people of color to accommodate Whiteness. However, our names bear our cultural power and to say our name is to stand in that cultural power.

Vignette IV: Say My Name
We begin to recognize our cultural power and demand that others say our name. As we start to move into this space of acknowledging the painful moments of our past, our trauma creeps in to remind us of its depths.

ACT III | RETURNING

Vignette I: She Finds Her Focus
As an adult, Ruby’s mind has a shift that allows her to understand the process she must engage in to overcome her trauma and allow her true essence to reveal.

Vignette II: A Message From Our Ancestors, Thich Nhat Hahn

“How can we be truly rooted in our ancestors? Because a person without roots cannot be happy. They cannot be happy people…And with the practice of meditation, looking deeply, we can connect with our father, our mother, even if he is no longer there, even if he refuses to see us…

Because the fact is that you are the continuation of your father, of your mother. It’s like the plant of corn is the continuation of the seed of corn. And although the plant of corn does not see the kernel of corn but she is, she is, she knows that she is the continuation of the kernel of corn, the corn kernel. And she knows that in every cell of the plant there is the existence of the corn kernel.”

– Thich Nhat Hahn (October 11, 1926 - January 22, 2022)

Vignette III: She Remembers Her Ancestors
Ruby begins to access her ancestors through meditation and mindfulness. It is through connecting with her family and lineage, that she can engage with her culture in ways that break generational trauma and resonate with who she is in this lifetime.

Vignette IV: She Is Unapologetic
Ruby delves deeper into her process and unleashes the divine within her. She is not fearful nor ashamed to ask for attention, to demand that her presence be acknowledged and valued. She lives #UnapologeticallyAsian.

ACT IV | INVITING

Vignette I: I Hope Someday You Will Join Us
We bring offerings to our ancestors to thank them for joining us in this performance journey. We invite you, the audience, to join us in a guided meditation to honor the Asian lives that we lost to hate crimes during the pandemic.

Vignette II: A Closing Message From Our Ancestor, Grace Lee Boggs
“Another world is necessary. Another world is possible. And another world is happening…People are beginning to say…the only way to survive is by taking care of one another. By recreating our relationships to one another. That we have created a society over the last period in particular where each of us is pursuing self-interest. We have, we have devolved as human beings.”

– Grace Lee Boggs (June 27, 1915 - October 5, 2015)

Vignette III: This Is For Our Family
Bow Sequence

9:00 pm – Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Same program as 7:30 pm

“Like endlessly proliferating forces of cosmic energy” says the New York Times. This showcase celebrates the diversity of the dances from the iconic Asian American choreographer Nai-Ni Chen. From her traditional repertoire comes a beautiful, traditional Triple Peacock Dance with music by composer Tao Chen highlights the beauty of nature; Incense, a deeply spiritual contemporary dance reflecting on her memory of the corridor of an ancient temple where incense was burned to send a message to the Gods. The showcase will end with an excerpt from Mirage, celebrating Nai-Ni Chen’s journey into the Silk Road where she witnessed the dynamism of the dances of the Uyghur people and the powerful whirlwind of the Gobi Desert. Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is represented by Red Shell Mgmt in booth 209, Rhinelander Gallery in the APAP Conference at the Hilton.

Incense (excerpt)
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Joan La Barbara
Costumes: Karen Young
Lighting Design: A.C. Hickox
Dancers: Candace Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Esteban Santamaria, Evan Stewart

This dance was originally inspired by the sculpture titled Nine Muses by Carlos Dorian installed at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey. The choreographer also draws ideas from the offering of incense in the long corridors of an ancient temple from her childhood. The rising white clouds of the incense is said to bring the believer’s prayer from their hearts to God’s ears. The music reminds her of the mystical elements of nature and the more abstract, formal elements that gives structure to our faith and thus our lives.

Peacocks Under the Moonlight
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Dai Minority Folk Music for Hulusi (a reed instrument from the Yunnan Province)
Dancers: Rio Kikuchi, Namhui Kim, Sarah Botero

There are more than 55 ethnic groups living in China, and each group has unique dances and music. The peacock is considered a sacred bird among the Dai people in the Yunnan province. Because of the performers’ supreme grace and elegance as peacocks, this dance is one of the most beautiful from that province. Many of the movements in this piece derive from real actions of the peacock, such as drinking water, walking, running, and grooming its feathers. The solo musical instrument for this dance: hulusi was originally used primarily in Yunnan province by the Dai and other non-Han ethnic groups but is now played throughout China. Like the related free reed pipe called Bawu, the hulusi has a very pure, clarinet-like sound.

Mirage (Excerpt)
Choreography by: Nai-Ni Chen
Composer: Glen Velez
Lighting Design: Carolyn Wong
Costumes: Jon Can Coskunses
Dancers: Greta Campo, Candance Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Namhui Kim, Evan Matthew Stewart, Esteban Santamaria, Kyle H. Martin.

Inspired by the unique rhythms and dance movement of the Uyghur people of
Xinjiang, Ms. Chen created a new movement vocabulary for this dance. Its tranquility and passion evoke the images of the desert area and the people who lived in oasis towns. The music for this dance was commissioned by the American Music Center which has been renamed New Music/USA.

BIOS

About J CHEN PROJECT

J CHEN PROJECT (JCP) is a 501c3 contemporary dance company based in New York City.

JCP was founded by emerging American dancer and choreographer Jessica Chen in order to create dance works that deconstruct identity, cultural diversity, and belonging. Through history, myth, and her own Asian American experience, Chen’s work interprets the contemporary moment and imagines a brighter future.

As a female POC-led organization, JCP promotes radical, equitable access to the arts by creating more opportunities for marginalized communities to participate in the arts and expand their capacity for imagination through artistic expression.

JCP strives to impact the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community by rewriting narratives and deconstructing old forms to center AAPI stories. In this time of anti-AAPI sentiment and violence, JCP has renewed its commitment to empowering Asian American faces and bodies with dignity and strength.

JCP’s core education program is the Mentorship Program, which invests in the next generation of dance artists and leaders, providing a roadmap to a sustainable dance career for underrepresented artists. The Mentee Program offers tools, connections, and ongoing mentorship to jumpstart the careers of promising pre-professional dancers.

JCP programs and events are open to the public and accessible to all. Through our dance works, community-centered projects, and educational outreach, JCP seeks to inspire change, use culture to build connections, and create a lasting impact on our communities.

J CHEN PROJECT invites everyone to join us for AAPI HEROES: MYTHS AND LEGENDS on March 30 and 31, 2023 at the Museum of Chinese in America (show times to be announced soon). This immersive evening of dance that reimagines the past, present, and future through an Asian American cultural lens. Take a journey through the spaces of the Museum of Chinese in America through different worlds filled with AAPI stories of strength and resilience that will resonate with people of all backgrounds. AAPI HEROES aims to educate audiences to the rich fruits of AAPI history and challenge the current abusive and hateful landscape AAPI people face. This project is funded by the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) through the NYS AAPI Community Fund.

Learn more at jchenproject.com.

About H+ | House of Chow

Founded by Yvonne H. Chow, House of Chow® is the Asian (American) Division of the NGO, H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory committed to the new and evolving image and reputation of the Asian nationality in Hip-Hop and beyond. Yvonne H. Chow has been training in Hip-Hop Dance (Popping, Boogaloo, Locking, Rocking, Breaking, & Party Dance) via The BLADE Dance Technique® (S. Thomas, 1995) for over a decade under the mentorship and tutelage of H+ | Founder & Artistic Director Safi A. Thomas, and now serves as the Director of Operations, Education Director, Curator of Works, and Principal Dancer of H+.

In 2015, Yvonne founded House of Chow®, to honor her family lineage through providing purposeful guidance, mentorship, and leadership to the next generation of Asian (Americans) in Hip-Hop Dance at H+ and beyond. In turn, she has cultivated a strong voice, a powerful presence, and a deep purpose as a representative of Hip-Hop, dance, and the arts on a global scale. Learn more at hdcny.org/houseofchow.

H+ | HOUSE OF CHOW PERFORMER BIOS

Aliyah Ali

Aliyah is a Dancehall dancer from the NYC Tri-State Area. She also owns her own brand, unchartedconstellation, where she creates costumes, handmade jewelry, and more.

Brenda Lin

Brenda Lin (she/her/they) is a first generation, Fujianese American, raised in Brooklyn, and the island of Hu Jiang in southeast China. She is a poet, artist, community coordinator and yoga teacher, whose main mission is to increase the accessibility of creativity and holistic healing to the local community— to destigmatize health and wellness being a luxury, and by creating inclusive spaces to connect with fellow human beings. Through this journey of mindful movement and practicing Eastern ways of healing, she started exploring the connectivity between different mediums of artistic expression, using the body to share stories and feelings that words haven’t been able to articulate.

Neha Sharma

Born and raised in India to Nepali parents, Neha comes from an Indian classical/ folk background in dance and music. Upon arriving in New York City in the year 2006, Neha received training under former Fela! Cast member Aimee Woodobode and music video choreographers Jeannie Irizarry and Violeta Galagarza. She continued to perform with local NYC street dance crews such as World Class Dancers, KR3Ts, Freedom dance crew and others while in middle-high school. Neha graduated with her B.A. in Psychology with a focus on using Dance Therapy as an intervention for children on the Autism spectrum at Temple University in Philadelphia. Neha is one of the co-founders/ artistic directors for the collegiate dance company/ organization, D2D: Dare To Dance which celebrated their decade this past fall in 2022. While receiving her undergraduate education, Neha was a principal dancer and Assistant of Rennie Harris RHAW and Rennie Harris PureMovement RHPM throughout her college career and thereafter. With the goal of opening dance schools in her home country India & Nepal, Neha is currently working to build those schools to continue the global education of hip hop dance & history and actively seeking support in accomplishing these goals.

*Shayna Malhotra *

Shayna Malhotra (She/Her) is a dancer, performer from New Delhi, India. Her dream has been to explore and learn about the world through dance. After traveling for shows for Bollywood in Scotland and Dubai, she knew she needed to get to the roots and decided to come to the United States. She is an international student at the Peridance Center for almost 2 years now. Yes the possibility and opportunities are limited being a student but she has managed to get guidance from the best there is. With a strong Jazz and contemporary background now, she has been tapping into Hip hop, House, Dancehall, and working for the company Rumbamena for Latin styles such as Salsa, Bachata, Meringue. She continues to find and challenge herself and works with the idea of spreading love and knowledge. Dance for her is an expression, a lifestyle for the mind and body’s well being. She continues to thrive with her passion.

Sun Kim

Sun Kim (She/Her/Hers) is a distinguished dancer and choreographer from South Korea; she specializes in Popping - a style of street dance in which she finds strength and freedom to speak her truth. She is also a founder/artistic director of Sun Kim Dance Theatre and a dance educator at Broadway Dance Center and Peridance Center. She has presented her works at New York Public Library for Performing arts presented by Works and Process/Guggenheim and LayeRhythm, Jacob’s Pillow, Burning Man at Sotheby’s, New Victory Theater, San Francisco International Hip Hop Dance Festival, and Breakin’ Convention. Recently, She received The Emerging Artist Award from Harlem Stage Gala 2022 and was nominated for Outstanding Breakout Choreographer at The Bessie Awards 2022.

Yvonne Huatin Chow

Yvonne Huatin Chow (she/her/hers) is a 1st generation, Chinese American, queer woman from the Bay Area, CA (Ohlone Land). After high school, she moved to the birthplace of Hip-Hop, NYC (Lenape Land) to immerse herself in a culture and art form that spoke deeply to her. There she found H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory where she has been training in and teaching Hip-Hop Dance foundations via The BLADE Dance Technique® (S. Thomas, 1995) for over a decade. She is now a choreographer, educator, and curator and currently serves as the Director of Operations and Education Director of H+. In 2015, Yvonne founded House of Chow, a repertory company to honor her family lineage and provide purposeful leadership to the next generation of Asians in Hip-Hop Dance. As a dance advocate, Yvonne represents H+ at the United Nations ECOSOC and serves on the Steering Committee of the NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies.

THANK YOU TO FAMILY & FRIENDS

The Chow Family
The Quan Family
The Thomas-Gibson Family
The Fequiere Family
The Derival Family
The Kuzmina Family
The Reisenbichler-Angulo Family
Bianca Bailey
Langston Kahn
Yuko Kudo
PeiJu Chienpott
Sarah McCaffery
Candy Tong
Justin Barnes

*THANK YOU TO ORGS & COMMUNITIES *

H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory
H+ | TOTEM Productions
H+ | AK47 Division
New York Live Arts
Nai Ni Chen Dance Company
Asian American Arts Alliance
Abrons Arts Center
Materials For The Arts
The Bessies
Pearl River Mart
J CHEN PROJECT (Jessica Chen)
Sun Kim Dance Theatre (Sun Kim)
Dancers Unlimited (Linda Kuo)
BIPOC Community Care (Dinh Do)
Jess Be Community (Jess Young)
Chinese Kung Fu Wu Su Association
New York University

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 main stage 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 immigrant’s 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 cross-cultural experiences and bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality. The Company’s worldwide touring is represented by Red Shell Management led by Edward Schoelwer. Learn more at nainichen.org.

Very Special Thanks

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 York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor 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.

About A4

The Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and cultural organizations through resource sharing, promotion, and community building. Since 1983, A4 has sought to unify, promote, and represent the artistic and cultural producers of one of New York City’s fastest-growing populations. We are a diverse alliance of artists, organizations, and arts supporters who believe that working together as a pan-ethnic, multidisciplinary community is essential to nurturing the development of artists and arts groups. A4 serves as a thoughtful convener of the Asian American cultural workforce around issues of race, identity, and artmaking and provides a critical voice for this community. We are the only service organization in the country dedicated to the professional development of Asian American and Pacific Islander artists in all disciplines. Learn more at aaartsalliance.org.