Dance at nJPac Dazzles with Beauty and Boldness - ArtsFreePress

On the bill are George Balanchine’s
emotional Agon; Gloria, a tribute to the
Harlem Renaissance by the company’s
resident choreographer, Robert Garland,
and a premiere by the inventive Thaddeus
David and Tanya Wideman.
New Jersey’s Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
is the perfect troupe for welcoming the
Chinese New Year—the Year of the Horse—
on January 25.
“We always involve the audience in our
celebrations,” says Artistic Director Nai-Ni
Chen. “We make them as colorful and
exciting as possible, telling traditional tales
and using traditional instruments. But we
also try to make our performances relevant
to today’s Chinese-American experience,
and so also include modern, abstract works.
Still, of course, with beautiful costumes and
fantastic props.”
The choreographer doesn’t confine the
festivities to the stage; she also has arranged
to showcase the art of Chinese Americans
with a lobby exhibit that audiences can view
as they enter the Victoria Theater. Plus there
will be a banquet to enjoy after the show.
“How could we celebrate the Chinese New
Year without food?” she asks. “We must
also take care of the stomach.”
score and the wonderfully appealing story.
Everyone falls in love with it.”
For the third year at NJPAC, dance in the
Garden State is the heartbeat of Jersey
Moves! Festival of Dance on March 8. The
festival leads off with the Carolyn Dorfman
Dance Company, celebrating more than
30 years of creative modern dance, and
10 Hairy Legs, the new company under
the artistic direction of Randy James. A
second installment of Jersey Moves!, with
performances by four promising young
troupes, will be held on May 3.
The dance performances culminate on May
The season’s eclectic program moves from 10 and 11 with the return of Alvin Ailey
Chinese dance to classical ballet on Feb. American Dance Theater. Bringing to the
9, with a performance by one of Russia’s stage the masterpiece Revelations, as well
most illustrious companies, the 50-member “At one as point, works Newark new to was the his repertory whole life. from Bill T.
State Ballet Theatre of Russia. The company He’d stand Jones, at one Aszure end of Barton Broadway and Wayne in Newark McGregor, as
will perform choreographer Marius Petipa’s a kid, and the say: dancers ‘Someday, show I’m off going their to go versatility to the and
triumphant Sleeping Beauty.
end of this their street.’ beauty. It was a big deal for him. Little
“It is the quintessence of classical ballet,”
did he know he’d join the U.S. Air Force, then
“I have pushed them into new territory,”
says Igor Levin, the presenter of the company. go all around the globe with Dizzy and many
says Artistic Director Robert Battle, “and
“It is one of those amazing works that more last times they with are his enjoying own band. the heck At one out point, it. They love
over the ages and have universal appeal. going to the end challenges of Broadway and in audiences Newark was love the to see
It is because of Tchaikovsky’s romantic be-all and them end-all meet for them.” him.”
Valerie Gladstone writes about the arts for The New York Times, The Washington Post and other
publications. She published a book about George Balanchine and most recently A Young Dancer: The Life
of an Ailey Student with photographer Jose Ivey. She will curate dance at the Emelin Theater in the Spring.
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