The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will be holding a series of performances in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year: Year of the Water Rabbit at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts on Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. The dance company will then be performing at K-12 schools across Queens on Feb. 6 and 7.
The dance company’s performances will combine traditional Chinese celebration with a modern flair. In this series, a new lion dance to the Chinese drum and cymbal integrated hip-hop rhythm will be featured in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. The lion’s steps will be choreographed to include hip-hop dance movement with a contemporary attitude. The collaborative effort comes courtesy of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s Director of New and Contemporary Dance PeiJu Chien-Pott, with assistance from H+, Yvonne Chow of the Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory, Lion Dance Master Henry Lee and hip-hop legends Kwikstep and Rokafella.
Other dances that will be performed in celebration of the Lunar New Year is YungGe, also known as the Harvest Song, a beautiful and elegant peacock dance, a powerful martial art solo spear dance and the majestic dragon dance. The Harvest Song traces its roots back to northern China while the peacock dance traces back to China’s Southern Yunnan Province.
The Chinese Music Ensemble of New York will also take part in the Lunar New Year celebration. They will be presenting two instrumental pieces. These will consist of a pipa solo and an ensemble featuring Erhu (two-string violin), Pipa (lute) and Dizi (bamboo flute).
New and contemporary works will also be featured as part of the show. The first new dance, Movable Figures, was inspired by Southeast Asian Shadow Puppetry, originally commissioned by the Morningside Dance Festival. The other new dance, Mirage, was inspired by the unique dance style of the Uyhgur people residing in the XingJiang region of China.
