Spreading the joy of dance

When the Taiwan-born dancer and co-founder of Chinatown's Chen Dance Center H.T. Chen arrived in New York in the late 1970s, he spoke limited English.

At the conclusion of his first day at the prestigious performing arts school Juilliard, a teacher reached to shake his hand and placed two subway tokens there, a small gesture he has never forgotten, he told China Daily ahead of the school's Newsteps choreographer series on Jan 17.

For more than 30 years, the school that Chen and his wife Dian Dong founded has served the Chinese community in that same spirit, nurturing dancers who in many cases could not otherwise afford the training.