Artists Unite Issue

World Premiere
Ashes of a Dead Frog
Saturday, May 12, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Bergen Community College, Anna Maria Ciccone Theater

Polish Choreographer and Innovator Jacek Luminski Makes Exhilarating New Choreography for the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Fort Lee, NJ – The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company (NNCDC) will perform Ashes of a Dead Frog by
guest choreographer Jacek Luminski during Bergen Community College’s presents Bergen DanceMakers in Connecting Flights in the Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre on Saturday, May 12, 2007, 7:30 PM.
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, one of New Jersey’s most outstanding dance companies and a national leader in contemporary and Chinese-American dance, commissioned Jacek Luminski, choreographer of the Silesian Dance Theatre (SDT) Poland’s premiere contemporary dance company to choreograph on the NNCDC members a work that blends his powerful and athletic style with Nai-Ni Chen’s graceful and commanding technique.  The result is a passionate work that mixes traditional with contemporary movements and partnering steeped in an “East meets West” melding of strength and spirit.

During the past three years, NNCDC has toured throughout Poland to much acclaim, bringing American modern dance and traditional Chinese culture to the Polish people. Nai-Ni’s choreography is valued in both the dance and theatre worlds in Eastern Europe, as was evident when the Company presented Ms. Chen’s contemporary works during SDT’s Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference/Festival in Bytom and her mixed-media work, Dragons on the Wall, a collaborative piece with Chinese poet Bei Dao, at Lublin’s prestigious Konfrontations International Theater Festival, where her peers from around the world were awed by the visual beauty, gentle athleticism and powerful philosophy characteristic of her work.

Throughout the Company’s tours in Poland, Ms. Chen and Mr. Luminski’s had opportunities to observe each other’s classes and work, and exchange ideas about their unique choreographic philosophy and movement style, and initiated an international exchange project.  During SDT’s Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference/Festival the NNCDC members became familiar with Luminski’s movements and choreographic style and with support from CEC Artslink and a deep commitment from the NNCDC and SDT, Mr. Luminski was able to work in New York and New Jersey with those dancers to create Ashes of a Dead Frog.  To reciprocate, Ms. Chen will choreograph a piece on Mr. Luminski’s company in the near future.

Premiere
– Saturday, May 12, 7:30 pm

Anna Maria Ciccone Theatre
Bergen Community College

400 Paramus Road, Paramus, NJ 07652

directions: www.bergen.edu/directions parking
in lot A

Box Office: 201-447-7428

Reserved seating, advance ticket purchase recommended