NuWa (女媧)

NuWa (女媧) is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology who repaired the Pillars of Heaven. She felt an indescribable loneliness and created the first human inspired by her own image reflected in the water. 

Choreographer: Jessica Chen

Composer: PaprTape

Costume Designer: Lui Konno

Dancers: Chieh Hsiung and Sumire Ishige

Associate Choreographer: Xiang Xu

* NuWa (女媧) is performed as part of We Belong Here: AAPI Festival, a fully presented opportunity for choreographers that identify with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, hosted by Arts On Site as part of their ARTS IN SITE, a performance series bringing underrepresented artists into view.

* This work is made possible through the Dance/NYC Dance Advancement Fund, Amerivision Inc, and an ongoing residency at the Museum of Chinese in America. 

Photos by Vanessa Gonzalez-Bunster

CAST + CREATIVES

JESSICA CHEN (Choreographer) is an American dancer and choreographer. Her work has been presented at MoMA Museum of Modern Art for New York Fashion Week, Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, MACY’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, TEDx Semester at Sea, World Expo-USA Pavilion in Shanghai, and featured on Google Arts & Culture by the Asian American Arts Alliance. She is a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women Artist-in-Residence, 2021 Dance Lab New York Choreographer, and 2021-2022 Artist-in-Residence at MOCA Museum of Chinese in America.Jessica is a proud member of SDC.

PAPRTAPE (Composer) is a composer, sound designer, and musician who makes music in various genres that combines traditional and modern techniques. PaprTape was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and started with the violin and piano at the age of 6. He traveled back and forth between the U.S. and Taiwan as a child, learning music with various teachers, and also studied with Khuillip Jeung from The Juilliard School. PaprTape began his career in Asia, winning first place in the International Floral Expo Remix Competition for remixing Teresa Tang's "What Would You Say," and later produced the girl group 六月弦 (Six.S.) that reached top 10 in the music charts in Taiwan, and also did the film score and sound design for JJ Lin's 友人說 Somebody. He then continues to compose, produce and perform around the world including Beijing, Taipei, Toronto, and New York. PaprTape's recent work has been commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. He has also been making music for top artists and brands including Philip Glass, Marshall Headphones, Burberry, and many more. He currently resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

LUI KONNO (Costume Designer) is a costume designer who came to New York from Yokohama City in Japan. She received her BFA in Oil Painting from Tama Art University in Tokyo. Upon coming to New York, Lui continued her schooling at Hunter College with a BA in both Theater and Film. While in New York she has designed costumes for several off broadway shows, dance productions, and films.

CHIEH HSIUNG (Dancer) is a Graduate of the National Taiwan University Of Physical Education and Sport with a major in Dance and Choreography. Originally from Taiwan, Chieh moved to NYC 5 years ago.  In 2015, she won the audience favorite award at the Breaking Glass: The Emerging Female Choreographers Project.  In 2016, she choreographed part of the Fish Lens 2016 World Tour at Lincoln Center. In 2017, Chieh was invited to perform in the 92Y Harkness Dance Center Big Mouth Asian Choreographer Festival. She performed at off Broadway-Women on Fire in 2018. In 2019-2020, she was the movement instructor for TV series and Concert in Taiwan.

SUMIRE ISHIGE (Dancer) was raised in Greensboro, North Carolina. She graduated from the high school program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2015 and graduated magna cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program in 2019. She has also attended the American Dance Festival and National Ballet School of Canada summer intensives, and has been a part of the Merce Cunningham Trust Workshop.  Sumire has performed with BARKIN/SELISSEN PROJECT, Boston Dance Theater, WHITE WAVE, Parsons Dance Company. She has joined J Chen Project for their new work commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America. 

XIANG XU (Associate Choreographer) grew up in China and trained at the Beijing Dance Academy, where he earned his B.A. degree and won numerous awards, including the “Gold Lion” top prize at the Singapore World Music & Dance Competition. After coming to the United States, Xiang Xu earned his M.F.A. degree in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.  Xiang has collaborated with the Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Merce Cunningham Trust, Palestinian Diyar Theater and Prumsodun Ok of the Cambodian National Arts Center. The Joffrey Academy of Dance selected Xiang to premiere his latest work at its 9th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition in March 2019. Xiang performs both contemporary and traditional classical Chinese dance styles, and has also studied and performed Thai, Indian, and West African dances.