The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has unveiled its 2026 season of performances, residencies, and community events, featuring world premieres by choreographers Lawrence Jin and Zhongmei Li, plus a vibrant lineup of traditional cultural performances. The season underscores the Company’s mission to bridge cultural divides, honor diverse heritage, and elevate artistic voices seldom heard beyond immigrant communities.
The season kicks off on September 15, 2025, at the Midwest Arts XPO in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the Company will introduce its unique blend of heritage and modernity to new audiences at the Baird Center. The new year begins with the AAPI Dance Festival on January 10–11, 2026, at the Ailey CitiGroup Theatre in New York City, produced in collaboration with the Asian American Arts Alliance. This festival will feature a Rising Star Showcase at City Center Studio 4, highlighting emerging Asian American choreographers and their fresh perspectives.
From January 18 to February 25, 2026, the Company will embark on a Lunar New Year Celebration Tour to honor the Year of the Horse with two distinct productions. The family-friendly Red Firecracker: The Legend of the Lunar New Year will grace stages at the Jersey City Theatre Center’s White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey, on January 18, followed by performances at the College of Staten Island, presented by Enrichment Through the Arts, on January 26–27. The tour continues at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts in Toms River, New Jersey, on February 4–5, and concludes at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on February 25.
The second production, Celebrating the Year of the Horse, is a world premiere program featuring new works by choreographers Lawrence Jin and Zhongmei Li. This program blends traditional Chinese symbolism with contemporary vision, showcasing the powerful Lion Dance—a centuries-old ritual invoking good fortune and warding off evil spirits—and the spectacular Dragon Dance, historically performed to summon rain, prosperity, and good luck, symbolizing imperial authority and wisdom. Audiences will also experience live music played on authentic Chinese instruments and engage with a lobby display of Lunar New Year cultural crafts, creating a multi-sensory immersion into Chinese traditions. This program will visit the Kupferberg Center for the Performing Arts in Queens, New York, on February 1, the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture in the Bronx on February 7–8, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on February 14–15, and the McLean Community Center in McLean, Virginia, on February 18.
On March 21, 2026, the Company returns to Manhattan for a special evening of repertory works and premieres at the Gerald Lynch Theatre in New York City.
The season culminates with the Company’s Annual New York Season Concerts on May 15–16, 2026, at the Ailey CitiGroup Theatre, featuring premieres by Lawrence Jin, Zhongmei Li, and guest artists, offering a powerful close to the season. To celebrate the Year of the Horse, the Company presents two significant new works.
Lawrence Jin, a native of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and a graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, will unveil a revised version of Mongolian Festival, a vibrant celebration of northern China’s nomadic horseback culture. Jin, whose career includes principal roles with the Beijing Youth Dance Company and Bella Lewitzky Dance Company, now teaches at FA Dance School in New Jersey and continues to foster cultural exchange through his choreography.
Zhongmei Li will present an excerpt of Ultimate Journey, a forthcoming full-evening work inspired by the ancient murals of the Dunhuang Caves from the Silk Road era, exploring themes of cultural discovery, spiritual passage, and the transformative spirit of the horse archetype.
These performances, combined with the dynamic Lion Dance—a martial-arts-infused tradition symbolizing strength, wisdom, and protection—and the vibrant Dragon Dance, representing power, dignity, and fortune, underscore the Company’s commitment to culturally resonant, imaginative performances enriched by live music and interactive cultural displays.
For tickets and more information about Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company’s 2025/26 season, visit www.nainichen.org
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