Photo Credit: Olivia Huang
In a video series of interviews and poetry readings, poet Chen Chen explores issues of home, identity, immigration, and coming out. Each poetry reading will be accompanied by interpretive choreography by Chavi Bansal, IJ Chan, and Flora Kim.
About the Artists
Chen Chen is the author of When I Grow Up I Want to Be a List of Further Possibilities (BOA Editions), which was longlisted for the National Book Award and won the Thom Gunn Award, among other honors. Bloodaxe Books recently published the UK edition. His work appears in many publications, including Poetry and The Best American Poetry (2015 & 2019). He has received a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from Kundiman and the National Endowment for the Arts. He teaches at Brandeis University as the Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence.
Photo Credit: Redaska
Flora Hyoin Kim is a Korean-American choreographer, performer, and dance educator who earned her B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. As a choreographer Flora has presented her works at various venues including Harvard Kennedy School, Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Onstage Dance Company Choreographer Residency Showcase, First Church in Cambridge, Korean Church of Boston and Lotte Cinema World Towel in Seoul, South Korea. Flora has directed and created a fully remote dance video, In Solidarity, as well as performed in a dance, music, and poetry film project, Together 6 Feet Apart, with BeHeard.World company in summer 2020. Flora has performed and presented works by prestigious companies and choreographers in Boston including Prometheus Dance, Deborah Abel Dance Company, BeHeard.World, Korhan Basaran, Riley Watts, Hollis Bartlett, Nattie Trogdon, Lorraine Chapman, Jennifer Lin, and Urbanity Dance. As a dance educator, Flora has taught various age groups at Boston Ballet School, Endicott College, Urbanity Dance, LINX Dance, StyleMe Dance, Boston public schools and dance studios in greater Boston area.
I.J. Chan is a dance artist and educator born, raised, and now based in Boston. In 2015, she graduated from James Madison University with a B.A. in Dance and Journalism. Since then she has dedicated her life to training and performing intensively in multiple dance genres, for multiple local and international dance masters. She has worked with a variety of Boston-based dance artists, including KAIROS Dance Theater, McKersin Previlus/Lakaï Dance Theatre, Jennifer Lin, Jean Appolon Expression, Chavi Bansal and Lenora Lee. In her own choreographic work, I.J. is interested in intersecting and exploring the Asian-American narrative. In addition to performing, she is committed to bringing quality dance instruction to low-income and minority youth populations within the city. She also works as freelance graphic designer and visual artist, with a specific focus on creating marketing materials for other dance artists in the community.
Born and brought up in India, Chavi Bansal’s early dance training was in Bharatanatyam, Bollywood, Martial Arts, and Indian Contemporary dance. Craving a broader dance vocabulary, Chavi moved to the Netherlands, where she earned her B.A. in Dance with a specialization in Choreography from Fontys Hogescholen Voor de Kunsten. In 2010, Chavi founded her company, Vimoksha, or “Liberation” in Sanskrit. Her artistic practice is rooted in Indian martial arts (Kalaripayatt), Yoga, Meditation, and both Indian and modern dance. At its heart, regardless of the form, the practice is focused on three areas: self-inquiry, stillness, and connection. Since moving to Boston in 2014, Vimoksha has found a company of Boston based dancers. Her work has been presented by the University of Stavanger (Norway), Danstalier’s (Rotterdam, NL), Mundial Festival (Netherlands), Boston Center for the Arts (Boston), Dance Complex (Cambridge), India Habitat Center (India), and Omi International Arts Center (NY).
Contact: Ashley Yung