Congratulations! Well done!!

JERSEY CITY RESIDENT/NIMBUS DANCE WORKS? LEAD DANCER PEIJU CHIEN-POTT WINS INTERNATIONAL POSITANO PRIZE FOR ?BEST FEMALE DANCER IN CONTEMPORARY SCENE?; PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER OF MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY

Leonide Massine Positano Prize Awarded By Jury Of Dance Luminaries to the Year?s Best Concert Dance Performers Worldwide

September 10, 2014 (Jersey City, NJ) Jersey City resident and Nimbus Dance Works lead dancer, PeiJu Chien-Pott travelled to Positano, Italy on September 6th to receive the prestigious Leonide Massine Positano Prize for ?Best Female Dancer in the Contemporary Scene - 2014?. Additionally, Ms. Chien-Pott was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer of the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company, following widespread acclaim for her recent performances at the Graham Company's New York City Season in April. Ms. Chien-Pott has been singled out by The New York Times, Dance Magazine, and many other publications for her performances.

As winner of the Positano Prize, Ms. Chien-Pott joins the ranks of world famous dance figures who are former prize recipients, including: Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Gianni Versace, Maurice B?jart, Vladimir Vassiliev, Ekaterina Maximova, Natalia Makarova, Carla Fracci, Luciana Savignano, Elisabetta Terabust, Alessandra Ferri, Roberto Bolle, Alicia Alonso, Yuri Grigorovich, Ulyana Lopatkina, Blakeley White-McGuire, Ivan Vassiliev, Natalia Osipova.

The jury awarding the prize was composed of: Roger Salas (President, El Pais, Spain), Valentina Bonelli (Vogue, Italia), Tatiana Kuznetkova (Kommerzant, Russia), Judith Mackrell (The Guardian, Great Britain), Wendy Perron (Dance Magazine, United States).

Ms. Chien-Pott resides in Jersey City with her husband, Samuel Pott, founder and Artistic Director of Jersey City?s Nimbus Dance Works (www.nimbusdanceworks.org). In addition to an international touring schedule with the Graham company, Chien-Pott performs regularly with Nimbus Dance Works, including in the company's recent Jersey City Season where she performed in Francesca Harper's duet Backspace and in Turkish choreographer Korhan Basaran's Untitled.

Chien-Pott joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2009. Originally from Taiwan, she received her BFA in Dance from Taipei National University of the Arts. In 2008, she was awarded a Merce Cunningham Studio Merit Scholarship. In addition to work with Martha Graham Dance Company and Nimbus Dance Works, she has danced with the Taipei Royal Ballet, Taipei Crossover Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Korhan Basaran Artists and Morphoses. Ms Chien-Pott has worked with numerous renowned choreographers including Pedro Ruiz, Lar Lubovitch, Luca Veggetti, Andonis Foniadakis, Nacho Duato and husband Samuel Pott. Currently, Chien-Pott can be seen in lead roles in Graham productions Chronicle, Errand into the Maze, Diversion of Angels, Witch Dance, Depak Ine and Echo.
The Positano Leonide Massine Prize was so named for Ballets Russes choreographer Leonid Massine by his former dancer and current educator/choreographer Alberto Testa, who founded it in 1969 to honor the choreographic contributions of Massine, and to recognize Positano, Italy, where Massine drew much of his creative inspiration and ultimately made a home. Promising young dancers and internationally renowned dancers receive recognition in various categories, with the awards being made at an annual Gala in Positano every September.