Programs

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Redefining Practice | Asian American Choreography Tea House

 

Graphic by Dance/NYC. Top left: Phil Chan by Eli Schmidt. Top right: Nai-Ni Chen by Carol Rosegg. Middle left: Annie Heath by Cameron Kelley McLeod. Middle right: Keerati Jinakunwiphat by Carrie Schneider. Bottom Left: Zhongjing Fang by Rod Brayman. Images courtesy the artists.

Graphic by Dance/NYC. Top left: Phil Chan by Eli Schmidt. Top right: Nai-Ni Chen by Carol Rosegg. Middle left: Annie Heath by Cameron Kelley McLeod. Middle right: Keerati Jinakunwiphat by Carrie Schneider. Bottom Left: Zhongjing Fang by Rod Brayman. Images courtesy the artists. 


When: Wednesday, October 6, 2021 from 6 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: YouTube Live
Registration: This event has already occurred. Continue on for event details, post-event survey, and session resources.

Accessibility:

ASL logo  ASL interpretation provided by SignNexus
Closed Captioning logo    Closed captioning provided the Viscardi Center.

If you require additional reasonable accommodation, please contact Izzy Dow at least two weeks prior to the event via email at idow@dance.nyc or call 212.966.4452 (voice only).
 

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About the Event
Redefining Practice | Asian American Choreography Tea House

Join Dance/NYC for the first event in the Redefining Practice series curated and moderated by Final Bow for Yellowface co-founder Phil Chan. This discussion, held with Asian and Asian American choreographers Annie Heath, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Nai-Ni Chen, and Zhong-Jing Fang, unpacks the complex relationship between identity and how these artists choose to express their Asian cultural heritage. The event offers ‘redefined practices’ to respond to the barriers Asian American dance creatives face, both internally within their communities as well as externally through avenues for presentation.

About the Series
As the landscape for dance as professional practice, living ritual and technical production continues to evolve, Redefining Practice explores how artists and institutions are adapting, unlearning and innovating new ways of being in creation––and the many phases that creation takes––to prioritise new learnings in racial justice, physical/emotional safety, and community care.
 

CHECK OUT THE FULL SERIES


Confirmed Speakers - Click speaker names to access their bios:

Side profile of Heath in blue and peach lighting with her hair in a high bun and in a navy tank top by Cameron Kelley McLeod

Annie Heath, Choreographer and Dancer

Keerati, a young Thai-American woman with long black hair and rose colored lips stares outward. Photo by Carrie Schneider.

Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Dance Artist and Choreographer

A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham

Nai-Ni Chen, Asian with long black straight hair wearing a purple sweatshirt standing against red and white flower as background

Nai-Ni Chen, Nai-Ni Chen, Choreographer and Artistic Director

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Phil Chan:Asian American man in blue silk tuxedo jacket, white shirt, in front of a blue and white background. by Eli Schmidt

Phil Chan, Co-Founder

Final Bow for Yellowface

Zhongjing Fang headshot by Jade Young

Zhongjing Fang, Choreographer

 Session Resources 

  • Annie Heath: This Mother/Land Fabric (NYLA)
    Runtime: 13:38 minutes 
    Video documentation of a collaboration between Annie Heath and Sokunthary Svay. The video features the two performers in sarongs moving around a warm, dimly lit stage with a long, thin piece of fabric spread on the ground between them. One performer speaks and remains still as the other moves, interacting with the floor and the wall, carrying smaller pieces of fabric onto the stage, and moving their sarong––taking it on and off, dancing with it. The performance concludes with the performers lying on the stage as the light dims. One is still, the other pushes the fabrics scattered on the stage into a pile as the light fades to black. 

  • Keerati Jinakunwiphat: Choreography Reel
    Recommended excerpt: 00:00–00:57 (Runtime: 57 seconds) 
    Six dancers from A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham are wearing hooded, monochrome sweatsuits in the colors of navy, burgundy, and grey. The excerpt starts with the dancers huddled up center stage and we hear a tip off sound resembling a basketball game. The light come on and classical music plays as the dancers begin to slice and flow through space as they intertwine and connect with each other. A dancer runs through an aisle made of other dancers. Video transitions to a new section as the dancers are in a single file line on the right. A dancer weaves through the line from downstage to upstage until they jump. The group proceeds to do a big sequential, diagonal lift of one dancer. As she lands, the go through unison movement through the end of the excerpt.

  • Nai-Ni Chen: Awakening Demo
    Runtime: 1:26 minutes 
    A short demo video of Nai-Ni Chen's most recent program titled “Awakening." It opens with a female dancer with her arms reaching up to the sky while swirling with her big round skirt shined under the stage light. Then five dancers each dance in their spot as if they are restricted in their limited space. A woman walking on a path with a white lantern in her hand to guide the way as she pulls out a long red fabric behind her to lay on the path. A couple bundled up in layers of newspaper dancing like ancient warriors with strong gestures. They stomp the floor, wave their hands as if they are fighting against injustice. A group of dancers each one holding a flashlight.  They jump and turn, push and pull as if they are interrogating one man sitting on a chair. The man who is sitting thrusts his body as they pull him off the chair. Then two female dancers in big round clear fabric skirts dance with the skirts to create a water splash effect. They slowly progress toward each other with grace as if they are swimming in the ocean. Then a male dancer jumps high in the air. He turns then jumps again with his chest pushed up to the sky as if he wants to fly and never comes down. Finally a group of dancers dance in unison movements. They dance with determination to go against all the odds. At the end, a woman is being lifted high up in the air, supported by a male dancer. She reaches her arms up for hope as the rest of the dancers jump and turn and run around the couple in the center.

  • Jadin Wong Fellowship

  • About Jadin Wong

  • Learn more about the Asian American Arts Alliance

  • The Privilege of Mediocrity
     


Dance/NYC's justice, equity, and inclusion initiatives are made possible with leadership support from the Mellon Foundation. Dance/NYC convening is made possible, in part, by support from the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Dance/NYC seeks partners and speakers with a variety of viewpoints for its events with the goal of generating discussion. The inclusion of any partner or speaker does not constitute an endorsement by Dance/NYC of that partner's or speaker's views.


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