An Asian woman holds a lighted bulb with a long red cape flowing behind her.

Choreographer and Dancer Nai-Ni Chen Dies at 62

Choreographer and dancer Nai-Ni Chen died while vacationing in Hawaii on December 12. According to her husband, after taking morning class, she went swimming in the ocean to relax her muscles; a passer-by later spotted her body floating in the water. She was 62. An artist who inspired others with her courage, dedication and creativity, […]

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Marjorie Tallchief, Trailblazing Native American Ballerina, Dies at 95

Marjorie Tallchief, renowned as the first American and Native American première danseuse étoile at the Paris Opéra Ballet, passed away on November 30 at her home in Delray Beach, Florida. She was 95.  A member of the Osage Nation, Marjorie was the last surviving dancer of the “Five Moons”—Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma who rose […]

African-Arts Scholar Robert Farris Thompson Dies at 88

Robert Farris Thompson, who was given the Outstanding Contribution to Dance Research award by the Congress on Research in Dance in 2007, died on November 29, 2021, at 88 years of age. Thompson was the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of the History of Art and, from 1978 until 2010, Master of Timothy Dwight College at […]