New York, March 19 (CNA) U.S.-based Taiwanese dancer PeiJu Chien-Pott (簡珮如) from the Martha Graham Dance Company will leave the dance troupe to pursue her own career in the dance arena after taking part in a series of performances to mark the 90th anniversary of the troupe in April.
The world-renowned company will celebrate its 90th anniversary season with four extraordinary programs at New York City Center April 14-18.
The New York season will feature four of Martha Graham's most important masterworks alongside new works created for the company by internationally acclaimed choreographers, according to a spokesman for the dance troupe.
Chien-Pott will be performing in Martha Graham's three classic works "Night Journey," "Cave of the Heart," and "Chronicle".
She has been preparing since the beginning of this year for her farewell performance with the dance troupe.
Chien-Pott told CNA that over the past five years, she has learned a lot from her dance performances and she hopes to collaborate with artists in other areas in the future.
"As an artist, I have to constantly enrich myself and try new challenges. I cannot stay in comfort zone too long. I need to be stimulated," she said.
After leaving the company, Chien-Pott plans to collaborate with artists in other areas, including an Italian opera producer for a film about dance. She will also give a grand performance in Taiwan in the summer.
Describing Chien-Pott as the dance company's treasury, artistic director with the company Janet Eilber said that while she cannot bear to part with Chien-Pott, she fully understood an artist needs to constantly grow her professional network and develop her artistic practice.
Chien-Pott joined the company in 2011 as an apprentice and she was promoted to a principal dancer in 2014 after gaining recognition from artistic director Janet Eilber, making her the second Taiwanese dancer to become the principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company, following leading Taiwanese dancer Fang-Yi Sheu (許芳宜). Sheu joined the dance company in 1995 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1999.
In 2014, Chien-Pott was named one of the "Best Performers" by the U.S. Dance Magazine and she was honored with the Italian Positano Premia La Danza Léonide Massine 2014 award for Most Outstanding Female Dancer on the Contemporary Scene.
In 2015, she was chosen by the Hudson County to be honored during "Women's History Month."
(By Timothy Huang and Evelyn Kao)
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