Nai Ni Chen Dance Company (USA) will be a special guest of the summer edition of the International Dance Theatre Meetings! This excellent contemporary dance company was founded by Nai Ni Chen, an American choreographer of Chinese descent, meticulously and devotedly cultivating Chinese dance traditions in combination with a modern dance style and contemporary choreographic trends. Her achievements include over 90
performances presented on the most important American stages and in 12 countries outside the USA. She died tragically in 2021. Nai Ni Chen was associated with many prestigious institutions and organizations in the USA, creating choreographic works for them and educating generations of dancers and choreographers.

In 2005, work of the excellent choreographer have already been presented in Lublin, during Theatre Confrontations Festival, so we are all the more happy to welcome her work again as part of the summer edition of the International Meetings of Dance Theatres. In addition to presenting performances, the Nai Ni Chen team will also conduct a series of dance workshops for dance lovers, including the Ukrainian community living in our city.

Programme:

Ashes of a dead frog A performance inspired by the reaction of the Japanese to the first meeting with European travelers whose skin color was described by the natives as resembling a "dead frog".

Choreography: Jacek Luminski
Music: Glen Velez, Mesopotamia
Dance: Emma Branson, Candace Jarvis, Kyle H. Martin, Evan Matthew Stewart, Thibaut Witzleb.

Conversation with Neptune
One of Nai Ni Chen's earliest works (1990) from a series describing the choreographer's childhood years which she spent in Taiwan. A piece inspired by YeLu geological park, a romantic and memorable place among forests and sandy beaches.

Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen
Music: Nocturnal Emissions
Dance: Rio Kikuchi, Evan Matthew Stewart, Emma Branson, Thibaut Witzleb, Kyle H. Martin, Candace Jarvis

Peacock dance
There are more than 55 ethnic groups in China, and each has developed its own original dances and music. The peacock is considered a sacred bird in Yunnan Province. The peacock dance is considered the most beautiful dance from this province.

Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen
Dance: Sarah Botero

The way of fire
The performance refers to the ancient Chinese theory about the cycles of birth and death related to the constantly changing phenomenon of nature. The five dancers represent the 5 elements of nature: wood, water, fire, metal, and earth.

Choreography: Nai Ni Chen
Dance: Greta Campo, Rio Kikuchi, Candace Jarvis, Esteban Santamaria, Evan Matthew Stewart

Raindrops
One of Nai Ni Chen's most famous works. The author draws inspiration from her childhood and her birthplace in Taiwan, the city of Keelung, known as "Rainy Harbor".

Choreography: Nai Ni Chen
Music: Robert Rich, Sainkho Namtchylak
Costumes: Olu-Orondava
Dance: Greta Campo, Rio Kikuchi, Sarah Botero, Candace Jarvis..

Illusion
Inspired by the unique rhythms and dance of the Xinjiang Uyghurs, the choreographer created an original dance dictionary for this performance. The calmness and passion present in the dance evoke images of desert areas and people living in oasis towns.

Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen
Music Composition: Glen Velez
Musicians: Lori Cotler (voice), Shane Shanahan (drums), Mark Katsounis (drums), Glen Velez (rim drum)
Dance: Greta Campo, Candance Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Sarah Botero, Emma Branson, Evan Matthew Stewart, Esteban Santamaria, Kyle H. Martin.
Special guest: Zhongmei Li (soloist)
Costumes: Jon Can Coscones

Between this and that
Cultural anthropologist Victor Turner described the performance as "a boundary space – a place, a feeling, a moment that awaits the right time. This intercultural choreography refers to the situation in which immigrants and non-migrants find themselves thrown into the
"border space", where they are confronted with the problem of abandonment or social or military conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, and, intentionally or not, lose personal or social stability.

Choreography: PeiJu Chien-Pott, Jacek Luminski
Music: Hania Rani, Jacopo Baboni Schilingi, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Divan Gattamorta
Dance: Candace Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi, Evan Matthew Stewart, Emma Branson, Esteban Santamaria, Kyle H. Martin, Sarah Botero, Thibaut Witzleb