Nov. 16, 2005

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine: 7240738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

WORLD-RENOWNED NAI-NI CHEN DANCE CO. PERFORMS JAN. 20 AT SRU

        SLIPPERY Rock, Pa. – Tickets are now on sale for the Jan. 20 performance at Slippery Rock University by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, which blends American and Chinese movement to create what the New York Times calls “rare modern dance.”

    The New York-based company has performed in 35 states, as well as China, Poland and Guatemala and won numerous awards. The company’s performance is part of SRU’s new ING Performing Arts Series, launched this fall to bring quality arts entertainment to the region.

           Tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for those 62 and older or 17 and under; and $7 for SRU students. Call 724-738-2091. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at Miller Auditorium.

About Nai-Ni Chen

Choreographer Nai-Ni Chen, resident artist at the Harlem School of Arts, formed the company in 1988.  From the flowing lines of Chinese calligraphy to the thundering motion of the martial arts, she has been on a quest to meld the dynamic freedom of American modern dance with the stoic discipline of the Chinese classical arts.

The company’s 30 dances document a wide variety of subjects, including the immigrant artist’s experience in America, cultural heritage and inner discipline.  Dances being performed this season include Raindrops, Incense, Bamboo Prayer, Passage to the Silk River and Unfolding.

 The company has received 10 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. Chen has taught master classes in many colleges and universities in the U.S., Taiwan, and China. Thecompany has also developed arts in education residency programs in urban high schools to bring culture and arts into educational settings.

           Born in Taiwan, Chen came to the U.S. in 1982 to pursue her dream of finding a new style of dance that would represent herself and her time. After receiving her master’s degree from New York University in 1985, she began working on integrating her experience of different idioms of dance, seeking a unique style that would be representative of her inspiration and heritage.

           SRU’s ING Performing Arts Series included a performance by Rockapella, a Dec. 1 concert by composer Marvin Hamlisch and Capitol Steps on April.

           #PN, PgN, PR