About

dancEnlight's mission is dedicated to fostering the arts through excellence in dance, Qigong, arts, education and artistic collaboration in a tapestry of Eastern and Western culture & ideas. dancEnlight strives to enrich the community, enlighten audiences of all ages, and inspire cultural development, locally and globally.

Founded by Lorelei Chang and Mai Nakanishi in 2008, dancEnlight is a professional modern dance company that performs in the US & Japan under the direction of Lorelei Chang (US) and Mai Nakanishi (Japan). Ms Chang & Nakanishi draw their inspiration from their Asian background and creates cross-cultural works with inventive ideas. Their idea of combining dance and the ancient art form of Chinese calligraphy and Qigong has uniquely set the company apart from others. Through artistic collaboration, dancEnlight works together with local and global artists to create lasting, high quality works of art that can be embraced by a wide range of audiences.

Since 2008, dancEnlight has performed at many venues locally and globally such as Trinity College, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Mohegan Sun, Heights Of Wellness, Wadsworth Anthenuem, NBC Wellness Festival, International Festival of Arts and Ideas, 5x5 Dance Festival, The Book Festival, first ever in CT; The Hartt School, Marlborough Arts Center, South Windsor Senior Center, Greater Hartford Academy, Rebound Dance Festival, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, The HOT school, Playhouse on Park, International Calligraphy Conference in Boston, and many venues in Japan including Yokohama Museum of Art in Tokyo.

In the past years, dancEnlight has been providing education programs for all ages, and is committed to serve the community by performances, outreach organizations and events. dancEnlight is proud to be a part of “Hartford Perform” whose organization provides the company opportunities to perform for public schools and community service projects. The company has performed for many private and public schools as well as community service projects over the years including Farmington High School, Sedgwick School, Asian Study Academy, Granby Public Schools, Kinsella Performing Arts School, Killingworth Elementary School, Chester Elementary School, Kingswood Oxford School, South Windsor Senior Center, White Oak Retirement Center. Ms. Chang and the company are excited to share the "Dance & Calligraphy" residency program and "Ink Passion" performances. The company offers two annual Summer Intensive programs: 1) Summer Intensive for teens, adults and professional dancers 2) Summer Intensive For Youth for ages 6-8 and 9-12.

In May, 2011, dancEnlight was awarded a non-matching grant from the Artist Fellowship Grant Program. This grant supported the company's world premiere, "The Way" In March 2012. dancEnlight produces annual company dance concert from 2008 to 2017. With all the overwhelming feedback, dancEnlight is humbled and profoundly blessed with the support from the board, family, friends and fans.

dancEnlight's collaborators include Mai Nakanishi Cultural Arts, Tokyo, Japan and Lanzhimo Culture Development Co., Ltd.Beijing,

dancEnlight is currently on break with company, however, Lorelei is offering many online classes, workshops and summer intensive. She hopes to continue serve our community through Qigong, dance, Taijiquan, Chinese calligraphy and arts.

Photo Credit: Li Jian Guo
Dancers: Lorelei Chang & Mai Nakanishi

Lorelei Chang--Artistic Director

Lorelei Chang is a modern dance pioneer, Qigong, Taijiquan and Yoga teacher, performer, dance instructor, choreographer and Chinese calligrapher. She performed and taught extensively in China and continued her career as a performer, teacher, and choreographer after moving to the United States in 1993. Her choreography was presented at the Beijing International Dance Festival in China (1990); American Dance Festival (1991); International Dance Festival in Hong Kong; and Dance Festival in India (1992); International Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT; 5x5 Dance Festival in Hartford, CT; Rebound Dance Festival in New Haven; and Built On Stilts Dance Festival in Martha’s Vineyard; Dragon Boat Asian Festival, and many other national and international venues including Tokyo, Japan, and Beijing, China, Brussel Belgium, Auckland, New Zealand. She was honored to be invited to perform with her twin sister, Mai Nakanishi for the Grand Imperial Charity Banquet hosted by the former Indonesian president's wife Dewi Sukarno in Tokyo in 2011.

Lorelei is the founder and artistic director of dancEnlight and a board member of the National Qigong Association. She has been teaching and performing at the National Qigong Association annual conference since 2015. Recently, Lorelei has taught Qigong & Chinese Calligraphy at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health and Omega Institute For Holistic Studies. Lorelei is a certified instructor of Radiant Lotus Women’s Qigong founded by Daisy Lee. While Lorelei continues thriving in the dance world, she also expends her horizon into Traditional Chinese Medicine since 2015. Lorelei studied Chinese herbology with Laura Mignosa, Traditional Chinese Medicine with Lonny Jarrett. She graduated three-year Five Elements Shiatsu apprenticeship program at Meridians Studio with her beloved teacher, Nini Melvin and thrilled to open the Shiatsu practice at her home.

Lorelei's passion for dancing and teaching has inspired students of all ages. She has been a faculty member at Connecticut Concert Ballet since 2002, and currently teaches Qigong, Yoga, Pilates at the South Windsor Senior Center. Lorelei also teaches Chinese Calligraphy. Lorelei was a faculty member of Trinity College from 2002- 2014 and a dancer with the Full Force Dance Theater from 2002-2008. Lorelei has been a guest choreographer and teacher for Trinity College, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Rebound Dance Festival, 5x5 Dance Festival, Miss Porter's School, Dance City, Riverdale, NY and Choate Hall and many other institutions and schools throughout Connecticut. Along with her endless dance-related work, she has a true passion for the Chinese art forms of Calligraphy, Qigong, Taiji Quan, I Ching and Chinese medicine. She has taught and performed at the National Qigong Conference, Quantum Qi Conference at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Wellness and Omega Institute for Holistic Studies.

Lorelei's Chinese Calligraphy artworks have exhibited at many venues including Charter Oak Cultural Center, CT; Trinity College, CT; Artist Collective,CT; International Calligraphy Conference in Boston, MA; National Qigong Association conferences at various cities and states, Kripalu Center for yoga and health; Chinese Cultural Center in Tokyo, Tokyo museum and more.

Photo Credit: Zoe Macerollo

Mai Nakanishi-Co-Artistic Director, Guest Choreographer & Performer

Mai is Lorelei's twin sister, who is co-founder of dancEnlight based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a performer, a choreographer, a ballroom dance instructor, and Chinese calligrapher. A Beijing native, Mai Nakanishi is an internationally recognized calligraphy artist and highly skilled professional dancer. She began her calligraphy at the age of five. As an award-winning calligraphy artist, honoraries include being the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Tokyo Museum International Chinese Calligraphy Award. Aside from Calligraphy, Mai Nakanishi is a trained professional dancer and instructor. She began her dance training in classical ballet, and Chinese folk dance at age three. As a young adult, she was selected among thousands of dancers in Beijing, China to receive full scholarship, intensive dance training, at China's top dance institutions, working with and studying directly under world-class instructors and choreographers. Mai received numerous Certificates of Excellence at many dance competitions. She moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1993 and continued her profession as dancer and instructor. After graduating from the prestige Guang Dong Dance University, she became a founding member of Guang Dong Dance Company, China's first modern dance company.

Photo Credit: Sachiko Nagata