Chen Dance Center's 'newsteps' Series Starts Tonight

Chen Dance Center presents newsteps, its semi-annual emerging choreographer's series.

Since 1994, its theater has supported and presented artists developing innovative and risk-taking works through space and production grants. The series has received acclaim in The New York Times, Dance Magazine, The Village Voice, Downtown Express and The Villager.

These choreographers were selected through an open audition by a panel of dance leaders including H.T. Chen, Walter Rutledge, and Lance Westergard: Jenny Boissiere, Keith Comley, Nikki Theroux, Shannon Yu, Esme Boyce, and Alexandra Lockhart, Chelsea Hecht & Emily McDaniel.

Esme Boyce's "Portrait in Charcoal" explores the idea of negative and positive space, volume, emptiness, lightness, and darkness. "This work seeks to externalize abstract imagery that wanders in my subconscious, emerging only as my mind begins to drift to sleep."

In her solo, Shannon Yu is inspired by the rhythm of the subway of New York, and the riders' both intentional and unintentional behavior.

A group work by Jenny Boissiere uses bees and their hive behavior as a metaphor for human interaction, this piece examines isolation, intimacy and the failure of intimacy, confrontation, finding home and what it means to be of service to a community that elects and gives power to one.

Nikki Theroux's solo piece is an exploration of innate physicality, of awakening the body's capacity.

A trio for Emily McDaniel, Chelsea Hech and Alexandra Lockhart delves into themes of instinct, habit and familiarity.

"Baggage: What is it we are really carrying?" by Keith Comley is a mime/movement piece that personifies these feelings of unrest through movement with a literal suitcase. The piece will explore how movement is effected by the added baggage and the difference between feeling the bags literal weight versus how movement changes when one ignores the burden of past trauma.

Performances take place at 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013 (corner of Mulberry & Bayard Streets), Thursday-Saturday, December 7-9, 2017 at 7:30PM. There will be a Meet the Artist Reception after Thursday night performance and a post-performance discussion after Friday night performance.

For reservations, call 212-349-0438 or 212-349-0126. Admission: $12/general, $10/students & seniors. Seating is limited, reservations or advance purchase is recommended.

TRAVEL to Chen Dance Center: Subway: Take the 6, N, Q, R, W, J, Z to Canal Street, then walk East along Canal towards Chinatown. Turn right on to Mulberry Street then one block south to Bayard. The theater is on the northeast corner of Mulberry and Bayard.

Chen Dance Center supports the development of dance by providing a professional theater space in which artists of high caliber receive production support and visibility to the NY audiences and press. The Theater also hosts H.T. Chen & Dancers' annual educational series for school groups, Teahouse Performances for family audiences, serves as a venue for community events, and provides affordable rehearsal space for modern dance artists.

CHEN DANCE CENTER is comprised of three components: a performing arts SCHOOL, a black-box THEATER (formerly MULBERRY ST THEATER) for modern dance, and its resident dance company, H.T. CHEN & DANCERS. CHEN DANCE CENTER is supported by: THE FORD FOUNDATION, LOWER MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTS, NEW YORK CITY DEPT. OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS.