Members of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company community were shaken last month when the company's founder, Nai-Ni Chen, died suddenly while on a family trip to Hawaii. An immigrant from Taiwan, she spent decades building a dance company that preserved and celebrated Asian and Chinese dance traditions while bringing in Western styles and contemporary directions. Founded in 1988, the Fort Lee, New Jersey-based dance company has performed around the U.S. and the world, including an annual Chinese New Year performance.
The dance company recently announced its new leadership team, who are determined to preserve and carry on Chen's legacy, and this Saturday (1/29 at 7 pm), A Tempo host Rachel Katz speaks with the team's members: Interim Artistic Director Greta Campo; Choreographer/Director of Traditional Dance and Preservation Ying Shi; Choreographer/Director of Contemporary/Creative Dance PeiJu Chien-Pott; and Andy Chiang, Chen's husband and executive director of the dance company.
(Photos: Above - Nai-Ni Chen; Right top - Greta Campo; Right bottom - PeiJu Chien-Pott; Left bottom - Ying Shi)
