Founder H.T. Chen was a celebrated choreographer who received numerous awards including a 2005 Bessies Special Citation, the NYS Governor’s Arts Award, NYC Mayor’s Arts Award, Chinese American organizations, served on arts panels, and the boards of Dance/USA, Dance Theater Workshop and Pan Asian Repertory Theatre. Mr. Chen’s unexpected passing in June 2022 was a major loss.
In September 2022, Co-Founder Dian Dong was appointed as the new Executive Director/Artistic Director of Chen Dance Center. Ms. Dong graduated from The Juilliard School and danced professionally with companies in NYC before joining her husband in establishing Chen Dance Center. In 2005 she attended the Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders-ARTS at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Ms. Dong also participated in the Kennedy Center’s Capacity Building Program led by Michael Kaiser since 2003, and helped lead Chen Dance Center through a series of expansion and renovation projects from 2009-2013.
In the capacity of Education Director, she had organized and designed the education programs for CDC’s award-winning home based and residency programs. In 2021, Dian developed a K-12 curriculum through Dance Education Lab (DEL) for the NYC Dept of Education’s Tracing Footsteps Series titled Into the History of Chinatown – Hidden Voices. As the new Artistic Director/Executive Director, she led the company through the restaging of company repertory, performances at the Ailey Theater and at La Mama Theatre, national touring, citywide in-school performances with follow-up workshops, and oversaw the Early Childhood Dance classes at PS42M in Chinatown. Currently, she is leading the company in reviving Opening The Gate – a signature work by H.T. Chen which will be performed at LaMaMa Theater and the Mark Morris Theater in January 2025.
Dian is working closely with the Board of Trustees for a capital campaign for the rebuilding of 70 Mulberry Street which was destroyed in a major fire in 2020.
Dian is humbled and honored to be receiving the DeLavallade Award.