(NEW YORK, NY) — Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company announced a grant award totaling $40,000 from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the nonprofit arts and culture sector. Through New York State’s continued investment in arts and culture, NYSCA has awarded $82 million this year to 509 artists and 1,497 organizations across the state.
“As the unparalleled leader of arts and culture, New York’s creativity and innovation inspires the world,” Governor Hochul said. “Our continued investment in our dynamic creative sector will further boost tourism, strengthen our local economies and continue New York’s success as a rich and vibrant place to live, work and visit.”
Executive Director of NYSCA Erika Mallin said, “On behalf of the Council and staff, I am so proud that we are supporting the critical work of so many nonprofit organizations all across the state, including work of Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company. New York State’s art and culture nonprofits make us a global leader, strengthening our connections to each other and the larger world. I thank you for your dedication and service and look forward to all your work in the coming year.”
The mission of the New York State Council on the Arts is to foster and advance the full breadth of New York State’s arts, culture, and creativity for all. To support the ongoing recovery of the arts across New York State, the Council on the Arts will award $162 million in FY2025, serving organizations and artists across all 10 of the state’s regions. The Council on the Arts further advances New York’s creative culture by convening leaders in the field and providing organizational and professional development opportunities and informational resources. It was created by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1960 and continued with the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Council is an agency that is part of the Executive Branch.
Celebrating over 30 years of dance-making, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a rare Asian American female-created touring company that honors and advances the dynamic spirit of Chinese American cultural tradition. Led by Nai-Ni Chen, a visionary in Asian American dance, the company emphasizes the immigrant experience through multicultural performances. Founded in the early 1990s, the company’s diverse repertory bridges Asian and American arts, collaborating with musicians like the Ahn Trio and artists such as Myung Hee Cho. Recent works like “A Quest for Freedom,” developed with the Ahn Trio, exemplify the Company’s commitment to innovative, cross-cultural productions. Nai-Ni Chen’s unique choreographic styles reflect the grace and splendor of the Chinese cultural traditions she studied in Taiwan and the dynamic spirit of modern and contemporary dance she acquired in New York.
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The Company’s contribution to the community has been honored by OCA, the leading national Asian American advocacy organization, New Jersey Chinese American Chamber of Commerce and the International Institute in Jersey City. The Company has toured extensively in the United States and at international festivals around the world. Their global presence includes performances in Mexico, Canada, Russia, and China, supported by esteemed institutions and foundations. Nai-Ni Chen has been honored with over 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, and prominent institutions – including the Lincoln Center Institute, the Joyce Theater, Dancing in the Streets, New Jersey Ballet, Ballet Met, Dancing Wheels and Baraka Sele at NJPAC – all have commissioned notable works.
Programs of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company have been made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/ Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, DanceNYC Dance Advancement Fund, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, New Music USA, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, American Dance Abroad, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Cultural Exchange Fund, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, PSEG, Proskauer, WAC Lighting and the Glow Foundation. WQXR is a media partner of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.
