Nai-Ni Chen

Nai-Ni Chen (October 31, 1959 – December 12, 2021) was a Taiwanese-American dancer and choreographer. Trained in traditional Chinese and Taiwanese dance before immigrating to the United States in the early 1980s, she was the founder of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, a dance company which blended traditional and contemporary dance.[1][2]

Nai-Ni Chen
Born(1959-10-31)October 31, 1959
Keelung, Taiwan
DiedDecember 12, 2021(2021-12-12) (aged 62)
Kailua Beach, Hawaii, U.S.
Alma materNew York University
Chinese Culture University
Occupation(s)Founder and artistic director, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Years active1988–2021
SpouseAndrew N. Chiang
Children1

Biography

Chen was born in Keelung, Taiwan on October 31, 1959, and started dancing when she was four. She studied modern dance, jazz, and Chinese martial arts at a secondary school for the performing arts; as a student, she joined the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan and danced with the company for three years.[3]

In 1982 she moved to New York to attend New York University, where she studied choreography and education. In a 2017 interview she said: “I was so excited about the dancing in New York that I decided to stay rather than teach in Taiwan.”[4]

Chen drowned while on vacation in Hawaii on December 12, 2021.[3][5] She and her husband Andrew N. Chiang had one daughter, Sylvia.[1]

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Chen and her husband, Andrew N. Chiang, founded Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company in 1988 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where she lived with her family.[6][4][3] In addition to Chen's original works, which incorporated her broad influences, the company performed traditional fan dances and ribbon dances. Productions frequently include a hybrid fusion with traditional Chinese dance.[7][8] They began to tour in the early 1990s, originally on the East Coast, and later internationally. The dance company was multi-racial and multi-national. Her dances were inspired by nature, which she described as the "Chinese way and philosophy," stating that her choreography emphasized the relationship and harmony between people and nature.[1]

References
  1. Genzlinger, Neil (2021-12-13). "Nai-Ni Chen, Whose Dances Merged East and West, Dies at 62". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-14. Republished as: "World-renowned dancer Nai-Ni Chen dies after she is found unconscious at Kailua Beach". Star Advertiser. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  2. Staff, H. N. N. "Internationally renowned dancer dies in apparent drowning off Oahu". Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. "Nai-Ni Chen Passed Away On December 12th in Honolulu". 2021-12-13. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  4. La Gorce, Tammy (2010-01-30). "Opening Doors With New and Old". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  5. "Dance on the Lawn mourns death of dance artist Nai-Ni Chen". Montclair Local. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  6. "Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Announces 2021-2022 Season". 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  7. Cutler, Jacqueline (2021-09-09). "N.J. dance troupe morphs pandemic fears into joyful performance". Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  8. Nash, Margo (2001-10-14). "JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS; Celebrating the Moon". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
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