Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) and Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company are pleased to present the AAPI Dance Festival, featuring three compelling sets of performances by AAPI choreographers and dancers staged across two days. Day 2 will feature dynamic performances from KAŌS (directed by 2026 Jadin Wong Fellow Nikaio Bulan Sahar Thomashow), Parul Shah Dance Company, YY Dance Company, and Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company.

The AAPI dance festival is an annual celebration of dance and choreography that highlights the artistry and innovation of choreographers of Asian descent, presented as part of the Dance Managers Collective’s Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) showcase.

The AAPI Dance Festival is made possible with support from the CJ Huang Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Cultural Trust, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and individual donors like you.

This event is ticketed and open to the public. Admission to one performance is $25. Receive a discount when you attend all three performances with a full-festival pass for $50.

Opening remarks by Lisa Gold and Andy Chiang

“PSYWAR” by KAŌS
“PSYWAR” brings audiences into the world of the Aswang, shedding light onto forgotten histories while emphasizing how propaganda has the power to rewrite realities. The immersive thriller explores weaponization of culture and surviving as Filipino genderfluid entities in a time where transness/brownness are openly villainized.

“all that lies” by Parul Shah Dance Company
“all that lies” disrupts inherited narratives surrounding South Asian diasporic female identity. Moving across myth, migration, and contemporary life, the work confronts exotic fantasies that shaped Indian dance in America alongside ongoing expectations of “purity” placed on women within South Asian tradition. Through choreography and spoken word, Shah offers personal counter-narratives.

“ELSEWHERE” by YY Dance Company
ELSEWHERE is a 70-minute, full-length dance work that received its world premiere as part of 92NY’s 2025 Women Move the World season. Featuring an original score, and 8 dancers, ELSEWHERE was the third piece in a trilogy series exploring humanity, connection, and the search for meaning. ELSEWHERE is considered by the choreographer to be the fullest and most developed expression of FoCo Technique combining complex physical movement and musicality with diverse Asian folk traditions—including influences from China, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and South Korea—centered within a contemporary dance framework.

“Song of the Phoenix” by Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Experience a dynamic journey across diverse cultural landscapes, from the bustling modern metropolis to the ancient tribal lands. This showcase program celebrates tradition, innovation, and the enduring human spirit through four signature works from the Nai-Ni Chen Dance:
“Whirlwind,” “Reflection of a Ripple,” “Shadow Force,” and “Dance of the Golden Snake.”