Song of the Waves

Grounds for Sculpture in Mercerville will host the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company Sept. 8.

By: Susan Van Dongen
   As a child watching the waves break against the rocky shores of northern Taiwan, dancer and choreographer Nai-Ni Chen never imagined she would turn her impressions into a work of art.
   "I was just like any other child," she says. "I was always very amazed by the changing weather and my memories are so strong. I was always sensitive to my environment and spent (hours) watching the clouds change, or the way trees would bend in the wind. I can really trace my influences back to my childhood."

"The
The


Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will have an unusual opportunity to show a connection
with nature when they perform a specially choreographed outdoor version
of "The Unfolding."

   Along Taiwan’s dramatic seashores, she was able to see the philosophical principles of yin and yang — the interplay of opposites forces — in action. For example, she observed what water and wind can do to rocks. They might seem inert to Western minds, but in Eastern philosophy, rocks are just as alive as the rest of the natural world.
   "They change very slowly," Ms. Chen says. "They’re very hard and strong, but over the years rocks can be re-shaped by softer elements of wind and water."
   The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will have an unusual opportunity to show their connection with nature when they perform a specially choreographed outdoor version of a new program, "The Unfolding," at Grounds For Sculpture in Mercerville, Sept. 8. Ms. Chen says she was invited to stage her dance there after someone from Grounds For Sculpture heard about the New York-based company’s performance at Wave Hill gardens in the Bronx last summer.
   "I didn’t realize there was such a beautiful place in this area," she says. "I was very excited when I went to see it, knowing I could set my piece there."
   "It’s always interesting to perform outdoors because you can see and feel nature right in front of you. Indoors, it’s more of a controlled situation, with lighting and sets. The dancers have to use their imagination to make it work. Outdoors, the universe is alive around you. It’s a very direct contact with the elements. Since the piece is about the energy and forces of nature, it works out well."
   Performing outdoors can also be challenging and even a little dicey. In fact, inclement weather postponed Nai-Ni Chen’s performance twice this summer.
   "We were at Grounds For Sculpture, all ready to perform, but there was a thunderstorm threatening," Ms. Chen says. "Actually, when there’s a storm coming it’s very exciting and beautiful, with the wind blowing and the light changing. My dancers thought it might be a great idea to perform anyway. But, of course, it wasn’t safe for the audience."
   Ms. Chen’s parents fled the turmoil of the Chinese civil war, moving from China to Taiwan in 1949. Ms. Chen began studying dance at age 4, working with some of Taiwan’s master teachers and choreographers. At 16, she began her modern dance career with the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, the first professional company of its kind in Taiwan. Ms. Chen moved to the United States in 1982, earning a master’s degree from New York University.

"Ms.
Ms. Chen has crafted an Asian contemporary dance style inspired by the poetic motion of the Chinese painting brush, folk rituals, ceremonies and, of course, dances that celebrate nature.

   A world-renowned artist, teacher and choreographer, Ms. Chen has performed in 16 countries around the globe. She has received numerous fellowships, commissions and awards, including recent substantial grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey State Council for the Arts. Since forming her company in 1988, Ms. Chen has crafted an Asian contemporary dance style inspired by the poetic motion of the Chinese painting brush, folk rituals, ceremonies and, of course, dances that celebrate nature.
   "In Eastern philosophy, people get inspiration from nature," she says. "Our ancestors observed how water runs through the stones, creating change. Many of my works reflect this kind of understanding."
   "My dances relate to the principles of yin and yang, the harmony and balance of opposites. If you think about it, everything in life consists of these two opposite qualities, hard and soft, male and female, sun and moon. As the earth rotates, day turns to night, but it’s turning back to day somewhere else. We keep rotating and keep the light going."
   The dance is set to Korean Chang-Go music, which Ms. Chen describes as a traditional Korean shaman’s song.
   "It’s a traditional rhythm and very ritualistic, but done in a contemporary way. You can sense the passion — how a human being responds to thunder, to the ocean or to moonlight on a river. The music and the dance rises and falls and rises again, goes from calm to stormy. That’s how we make it interesting. It’s a lot like human emotions."
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will present The Unfolding at Grounds For
Sculpture, 18 Fairgrounds Road, Mercerville, Sept. 8, 4:30 p.m. Tickets cost
$10. For information, call (609) 689-1089. On the Web: www.groundsforsculpture.org.
Nai-Ni Chen on the Web: www.nainichen.org