2022 CrossCurrent Asian American Dance Festival

At Flushing Town Hall

April 10, 2022 at 2PM

Presented by Flushing Town Hall in collaboration with the

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

 

The Inner Light (2019)

(Yu.S.Artistry)

Choreographer:  Yuki Ishiguro

Dancer: Yu Fujiwara, Joseph Heitman, Yuki Ishiguro, Vivake Khamsingsavath, Namhui Kim

Music: Frieden/Burger Voigt, Wash Over Me/Shifted, Endalaus Ⅱ/Olafur Arnolds, Life, Life/Ryuichi Sakamoto 

 

Table for Two

Choreographer: Rathi Varma

Dancer: Rathi Varma

Music: Spoken Word

 

In your quest for love, you embark on a journey of empty conversations, meaningless swipes and obligatory small talks. Lured by a plethora of dating apps and matrimonial sites, dating can be a challenge in an overwhelming city like NYC. Table for two talks about my desire for love and companionship met with heartbreaks, disappointments and sometimes the cold New Yorker response. I’m constantly questioning the authenticity of human connection masked behind a virtual persona of someone’s best profile picture and intelligent statements. In a city where friendliness and loneliness are two sides of the same coin, finding a connection can be conflicted by our fast paced lifestyles, relationships expectations and lack of commitment.

 

Shedding

Choreographer: Mamiko Nakatsugawa

Dancer: Mamiko Nakatsugawa

Music: "Violino" by Piero Piccioni

Costume: Mamiko Nakatsugawa

 

Shedding is choreographed by Mamiko Nakatsugawa in 2022, exploring the idea of shedding the skin to grow out from the old mold that you were fitted in. As a human, we don’t shed our skin to grow like snakes do. But, what if I shed my memory and leaving the detailed skin as I was and as I felt? What if I shed for good, even that hurts?

 

LOSS

(OcampoWang Dance)

Choreographer: Chien-Ying Wang

Dancer: Kiana Rosa Fischer and John Heiserman

Music: An Die Musik by Franz Schubert; Vocals by John Heiserman

Costume concept: Paul C. Ocampo

 

LOSS looks within the human spirit. We are bombarded with news, frequently unwelcome news. Our spirits deflate. We risk paralysis amid fears that we cannot do anything to change our world. Having a positive attitude/approach and allowing time to heal can be helpful. Empowering the human psyche and nurturing perpetual hope are the primary goals of this piece.

 

The Moon reflected in East Sea

(Project SK+A)

Choreographer:Seyong Kim 

Dancer: Amy Saunder

Music: Eyes Shut,  composed by Olafur Arnalds & Alice Sara Ott

Costume Design: Seyong KIm

 

The Moon reflected in East Sea is a solo contemporary dance performed by a female dancer in commemoration of So-nyeo-sang (Statue of Peace) in Korea. The Statue of Peace was erected to call for apology and remembrance. This is a symbol of the victims of sexual slavery, known as comfort woman by the Japanese military until the end of Pacific war that took place in World War II. East Sea is a political region between Korea and Japan of East Asia. Utilizing these themes regarding the diplomatic issue, this piece is not intended to reexamine international conflict in East Asia but to move forward with new insight of a peaceful co-existence in globalization.  ""The Moon reflected in East Sea"" was premiered at Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI) in 2021, and this piece is dedicated to the late Nai-Ni Chen. 

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Prayer

(Dancers Unlimited)

Choreographer: Linda Kuo

Dancer:  Marianna Koytsan, Candice Taylor, Marmara Tobal

Music: Axis by Outsource

Costume:  Linda Kuo

 

Prayer is an excerpt of our work-in-progress, Edible Tales, a multimedia dance installation that explores cultural heritage, social justice and sustainability. Prayer honors our individual connections with our ancestors, and explores the common practices of ancestral worship and celebration in many cultures. We would like to dedicate this performance particularly to Nai-Ni.

 

Incense (2003)  

(Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company)

Choreography: Nai-Ni Chen

Dancers: Evan Matthew Stewart, Jainil Mehta, Candace Jarvis, Rio Kikuchi

Music: Joan La Barbara (performing live Thu 3/24 and Sun 3/27)

Costume: Karen Young

 

This dance was originally inspired by the sculpture titled Nine Muses by Carlos Dorian installed at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey.  The choreographer draws ideas from the offering of incense in the long corridors of an ancient temple in her childhood.  The rising white clouds of the incense is said to bring the believer’s prayer from their hearts to God's ears.  The music reminds her of the mystical elements of nature and the more abstract, formal elements that give structure to our faith and thus our lives.  Dancers have chosen this dance to remember the power and grace of Nai-Ni Chen’s choreography.