Nai-Ni Chen opened her 2019 season with a theme of collaboration and outreach, especially with other diverse, immigrant women choreographers from all over the world. On October 22, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will conduct a weeklong residency and choreographic exchange with Germany's HannahMaDance headed by Luxembourg/Trier based choreographer Hannah Ma. During the residency, Nai-Ni Chen will be developing a new work using the music of Chinese Bamboo Rap (Kuaiban), Chinese Martial Art and Hip-Hop. A final performance of the work-in-progress, currently titled Speaking in Tongues, will be shown to the public in Germany on Sunday, October 28, 2018. Information of the performance can be found online at www.tufa-trier.de/kurse-workshops.html#c1036.
 
Hannah Ma is a German-Chinese choreographer. Her focus lies on contemporary rituals and the translation of archaic roots within our society. She was educated at the Conservatory in Vienna and the John-Cranko School, Stuttgart and the University of Hagen (GER). Hannah was a scholarship student at Kirov Ballet/ St. Petersburg and Hong Kong Ballet. She won several ballet competitions such as: ÖTR- Contest in Vienna and the International Ballet Competitions in Györ, Hungary and Bologna, Italy. She worked, amongst others, with Theatre Freiburg (GER), Museumsquatier (A), Theatre Trier (DE) and the Expo in Shanghai (CHN). Hannah worked as a freelance dancer all over the world. Since founding hannahmadance ( DE, 2014) and HAN SúN Gathering (LU, 2015) her productions were invited and co-produced by: Theatre National Luxembourg, (2015/ 2017), Theatre d´Esch, Luxemburg (2017), Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen / DE (2016), Festival Passages in Metz/ FR (2017), Theater Trier/ DE (2016/2017), German Consulat General/ N.Y. (2016), Arpmuseum am Rolandseck/DE ( 2016),Alter Schlachthof Eupen (BE), Trois C-L/LU (2015/2016). As director of her company she was invited to APAP Conference 2017/ New York ( work in progress showing "WANDERER"), to Swiss Dance Days, Geneva /CH 2017, National Arts Festival, Grahamstown /SA 2017 and Tanzplattform, Essen/ GER 2018. Hannah won several awards as a dancer and choreographer such as the "Theatermaske" from Richard- Wagner association (DE), the "Bru?ckenpreis Rhinland-Phalatinate" (DE). She was nominated for the German "Engagementpreis" in 2016. Her project "H.E.R.O.E.S" is currently evaluated as a best practice project by the UNESCO, Germany, 2017. Hannah was chosen for TalentLab at Les Theatres de la Ville/Grand Theatre Luxemburg (Jury: Koen Augustijnen/ Les ballets C de la B, José Montalvo/La Maison des Arts de Créteil / France, Peeping Tom, Compagnie de danse /Gabriele Carrizo and Franck Chartier / Belgique , Bernard Baumgarten/ TROIS C_L Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois, Tom Leick-Burns/ Théâtre de la Ville/ Luxembourg). Hannah teaches the method "Speaking Body"- an improvisation method she created from the base of contemporary and classical dance, yoga and acting methods.Hannah also studied cultural sciences with focus on philosophy. www.hannahmadance.com
 
About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

NAI-NI CHEN established her company in 1988 and has since grown to be one of the most widely toured and presented Asian American dance companies in the United States with 18 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, 8 tours abroad and over 30 national tours reaching 40 states in America. Her works have been commissioned by the Joyce Theatre Foundation, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the New Jersey Ballet, BalletMet and Dancing Wheels. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently in residence at New Jersey City University in Jersey City, NJ. Well known for her collaboration with renowned composers such as Tan Dun, Jason Kao Hwang, Joan La Barbara, Huang Ruo and Glen Velez Nai-Ni Chen started the CrossCurrent series at Flushing Town Hall as a vehicle to bring the voices of diverse contemporary immigrant dance artists to the most diverse communities in New York, where artists can meet audiences from all over the world and enrich each other with their perspective and viewpoints through the artistic experience of music and dance. Programs of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company are 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 Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, the Cultural Ministry of the People's Republic of China, the Live Music for Dance Program of New Music USA, the Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, American Dance Abroad, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, PSEG, Proskauer, WAC Lighting, the Glow Foundation and MOCA. www.nainichen.org
 
For more information, please go to the website or contact: info@nainichen.org.