Spring into Dance: Nai-Ni Chen Dance and Peter Chu Announce Master Classes in NYC

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company and renowned choreographer and educator Peter Chu are inviting experienced dancers to join “Spring into Dance” master classes. Designed for pre-professional and professional dancers seeking to expand their technique and creative expression, the workshops will take place across three dates in late March and early April 2026.

The classes will be held at the Abrons Arts Center, Room G05, located at 466 Grand Street, NYC.

Kinetic Spiral with Greta Campo
The series features the signature class “Kinetic Spiral,” a physical experience created by Nai-Ni Chen. The method is designed to develop kinetic awareness of the body and tap into creative energy by combining Eastern and Western movement traditions. It uses Qi-Going and Tai Chi exercises to develop the mind and spirit, alongside modern dance movements to strengthen the body. The session will be taught by Greta Campo, artistic director of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, who will also teach key movement phrases from the company’s repertory.

Contemporary Master Classes with Peter Chu
Peter Chu, known for his immersive, high-energy contemporary master classes, will lead two sessions. His workshops blend technical precision with his unique movement principles, emphasizing breath, “moving from the bone” (not muscle), and “inner energy work”. Chu’s classes will focus on improvisation, partnering, and repertory exploration to foster technical skill, emotional, and artistic growth.

Schedule of Workshops (5:00 PM – 7:00 PM):
Wed, March 25, 2026: Kinetic Spiral with Greta Campo
Thu, March 26, 2026: Peter Chu
Thu, April 1, 2026: Peter Chu

Registration Information
Class size is limited, and early registration is encouraged. The cost is $30 for a single workshop or $75 for all three workshops.

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 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 works 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.

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 diverse repertory of Nai-Ni Chen’s original works bridges the grace and power of Asian arts and American dynamism which incorporates her broad influences. The company also preserves a variety of festive dances from different regions of China, choreographed by guest immigrant artists bearing the 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 in genre from new music to 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 artists such as Myung Hee Cho, Jay Moorthy, AC Hickox, and costume designer Karen Young have also collaborated with the Company. These collaborations provided us the opportunity to develop productions that carry the timeless essence of the tradition, crossing cultural boundaries without compromising the integrity of the art.

In addition to domestic touring, the company has also performed at international festivals in Mexico, Canada, BVI, 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 Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and from the 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 Arts Center, The Company is currently in residence at New Jersey City University’s A. Harry Moore School for students with disabilities, and in Elizabeth School #26, a school of mostly immigrant children. For more info: https://www.nainichen.org/

PETER CHU (he/him) is a movement artist whose versatile roles encompass director, choreographer, stager, performer, educator, and mentor. Driven by a deep curiosity and a passion for learning, he generously shares his experiences and insights with others. Chu’s love for the arts fuels his vivid imagination and creative expression.

Born in the Bronx and raised in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Peter’s interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine deepened his understanding of his Chinese identity and influenced his artistic and individual values. This healing approach informs his creative process and shapes the movement experiences he cultivates.

Peter began his journey as a competitive gymnast and further developed his artistry at Dussich Dance Studio. As a BFA student at The Juilliard School, he honed his technical skills and embarked on a path in choreography, earning the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography upon graduation.

With over two decades of experience in both concert and commercial dance, Chu has performed with esteemed companies such as Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Crystal Pite’s Kidd Pivot, EZdanza, Aszure Barton and Artists, and Celine Dion’s A New Day. His choreography has been featured in numerous organizations, including Ballet Augsburg, Backhaus Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Cirque du Soleil, DART Dance Company, Gibney Dance Company, Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kansas City Ballet， MØN festival，and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. In 2008, he founded the project-based company chuthis., where he explores innovative lighting and sound alongside live contemporary movement, delving into the depths of his identity and artistry as a director, choreographer, and educator.

Chu’s accolades include the 2010 A.C.E. Capezio Award and recognition as the 2008 Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival choreographer. In 2018, he was honoured with the Harvard Blogett Award for Distinguished Artist for his impactful creative work at the Theater, Dance, and Media Department at Harvard University, where he served as a guest faculty member for three years. He has also been the Rehearsal Director for Nederlands Dans Theater 2 and served as Guest Rehearsal Director for NDT1.

Currently based in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Peter travels frequently for freelance choreographic commissions and teaching opportunities. He is honoured to be a Choreographic Mentor for one of the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellows and the Upsurge Dance Festival. This past summer, chuthis. enjoyed a residency at Orsolina 28, where they premiered a new work and chuthis. ended dancing a mini tour to Germany and the Netherlands featuring a duet evening called SHIFT. chuthis. concluded the summer with a residency at Perry Mansfield in Steamboat Springs, CO.
As the director of Chuthis. Perspectives and co-director with Jess Hendricks of Creating WAVES, Chu continues to push the physical boundaries of dance, earning respect as a sought-after artist in the industry.

GRETA CAMPO - Artistic Director, began her dance training in her native Milan at the Carcano Theater, where she was first introduced to Martha Graham’s work. At age 19, she moved to NYC and attended the Professional Training Program at the Martha Graham School and, after a couple of months, she joined Graham II, performing in ensemble and solo roles. She performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company in their 2012 New York Season and has also travelled nationally and internationally with them. . She completed the Teacher Training Program at the School. Greta received the 2016 Rising Star Award from Fini Dance Festival. Ms. Campo joined the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in 2012, besides dancing she teaches for several teaching projects with the Company, including dance classes for kids with disabilities, for public school kids, she has taught college students and masterclasses with Nai-Ni Chen. Since the Pandemic Ms Campo has been teaching the Company Style, Kinetic Spiral, via Zoom and in person. She joined different projects with Buglisi Dance Theater since 2019.