ABOUT ACAS
The American Chinese Art Society (ACAS), a Massachusetts-registered non-profit cultural organization, was founded in 1984 with express goals of preserving and promoting the excellence in Chinese culture through performance of traditional Chinese dances. To that end, ACAS has systematically provided vigorous training in performing arts for talented young dancers and sponsored other cultural events including: Annual Chinese Dance Festival, Annual Chinese Dance Summer Workshop, biennial New England Chinese Dance Competition, and ACAS Dance Studio classes with a year-end open performance. Since its founding, the ACAS has laid a solid foundation for the next generation of young talents to learn, practice, appreciate and promote their unique artistic heritage. In addition, these talented young dancers have proudly shared this cultural gem with a large variety of audiences through their frequent invitations to perform traditional Chinese dances in many places both domestically and abroad over the years.
The ACAS is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and tirelessly guided by Ms. Jade Lin, Co-Founder and Executive Director, a highly gifted and accomplished dancer, choreographer, and pianist. In addition to preserving and promoting the Chinese culture as its main mission, ACAS is also committed to strengthening the cultural exchanges between the Chinese and American communities.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Iih-Nan Chou
Executive Director: Jade Lin
Secretary: Lih-Nan Chou
Treasurer: Mei-Po Kao
Public Relations: Lynn Lee, So-Fai Tsang
Development: Ru-Ping Chen, Cho-Nang Teng
Directors: Yi-Fang Hsieh, Howard Leong, Weidong Li, Yueh-Er Wang, Vincent Wong
Senior Advisors: Li-Li Chen, Cheng-Min Shih, Stephen Tang
ACAS DANCE FACULTY
JADE LIN, Executive Director & Executive Artistic Director
Ms. JADE LIN (陳玉律) is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of the American Chinese Art Society. She received her B.A degree in music from National Taiwan Normal University and also studied Piano Pedagogy at New England Conservatory. Ms. Lin studied traditional Chinese classical and folk dances and ballet for seventeen years in Taiwan, and was a principal dancer of “Romeo and Juliet” and in the second act of “Swan Lake”. Ms. Lin received many National Cultural Awards in Taiwan, Republic of China, in recognition of her outstanding achievements.
Ms. Lin is the Executive Artistic Director of the ACAS Traditional Chinese Dance Troupe. For more than fifty (50) years, she has passionately volunteered much of her time and efforts in choreographing and teaching Chinese dances. Among her well-known choreographic achievements are productions of popular Chinese dance dramas including: The Dream of the Red Chamber, The Bridge of Magpies, The Song of Eternal Lament, A Suite of Taiwan Aborigines, Mu-Lan, The Goddess Strews Flowers , etc. Representative Chinese dance pieces include: Feather Fans, The Little Cowboy, Uncover Your Veil and other popular dances. All these productions truly attest to Ms. Lin's extraordinary artistic talents in choreography of traditional Chinese dances.
In 1995, she was presented with “The Pride of Newton Award” to recognize her excellence in the arts and was selected by the Newton Women's Commission for recognition in a photo exhibit highlighting women as a major contributor in the field of Cultural Arts in 2000. Ms. Lin received the 2002 Community Service Award at the Asian American Unity Dinner to recognize her “exceptional devotion, dedication and skills in introducing Chinese art and culture to those in Greater Boston, particularly to children.” In 2009, Ms. Lin became the first recipient in the Boston area of a prestigious “Hai-Hwa High Honor Award” in recognition of her outstanding contributions to advancing the artistic heritage and promoting Chinese culture in Chinese communities.
GRACE KAKI GLADUE, Artistic Director & Choreographer
Ms. Grace Kaki Gladue began studying dance and performing as a dances while attending SKH Bishop Mok Sau Tseng Secondary School in Hong Kong where she was exposed to a broad spectrum of dances from both the Asian and Western cultural traditions. After three years with the Mok Sau Tseng's Dance Group and garnering numerous high honors, Ms. Gladue participated in a performance at the farewell ceremony for the British Governor of Hong Kong. After immigrating to the U.S., she continued to study and perform Chinese classical and folk dances in addition to taking other classes in ballet, hip-hop, Irish step dance and modern jazz. She also took part in a six-city cultural exchange dance tour through Mainland China and had a solo performance at Hong Kong's Dance Expo 1998. Ms. Gladue has also performed on “Asian Focus”, a Boston TV weekend program and for the Discovery Channel's TV advertisement of its "The Forbidden City" program. Ms. Gladue won the Best Chinese Minority Dance Award at the 9th North American Chinese Dance Competition held bi-annually in Vancouver, 2004, as well as the Highest Overall Score Award, Best Minority Dance Award, and the Most Authentic Chinese Dance Award at the 10th North American Chinese Dance Competition in 2006.
Ms. Gladue was a dance instructor with the Kwong Kow Chinese School. She also taught Chinese folk dance classes at the Lexington Chinese School and for the Classic Chinese Dance Group. Ms. Gladue co-founded Dance Revelasian in 2003 and has been serving as its Artistic Director. She was Dance Instructor and Choreographer for Tsai Fung Dance Troupe of the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association, the Dong Fang Dance Performance Arts, and the Lexington Chinese School. She has taken lessons at and received certification as a Chinese Dance Instructor from the Beijing Dance Academy.
LU MEN, Choreographer & Instructor
Ms. Lu Men earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Peking University and Pennsylvania State University, respectively, and has been a dance instructor in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts since 2008. She was a lead dancer in many performances and has won first prizes in multiple national competitions. She has also received Honglou Award from Peking University for her special accomplishments in performing arts. With more than 20 years of dance experience, Lu offers a unique insight into dance education. She believes that dance is more than just movements; it has the story, culture and history embedded in it. Dance is the channel for emotions and it delivers happiness. Her vision is to bring the joy of dance to more people. Besides being a dancer, she is also a professional photographer.
CHUN JOU (MIA) TSAI, Choreographer & Instructor
CHUN JOU (MIA) TSAI, originally from Taiwan, has extensive experience in dance performance, choreography, education and acting. She received extensive training in Chinese dance, Modern dance, Improvisation, Ballet, Jazz, etc. and gained diverse dance training and performing experience at Lan Yang Dance Company at a young age. Supported by a full scholarship, Ms. Tsai received a master's degree (MFA) in Contemporary Modern Dance from Case Western Reserve University where she continued to receive accolade for her work. She has obtained “Aliens of Extraordinary Ability” visa status from USA. She has performed internationally in Brazil, South Africa, Singapore, Japan (Kagoshima & Tokyo) and China (Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Xiamen and Shenzhen).
To pass on her deep knowledge and love of dance, she has been teaching at Chinese Folk Art Dance Workshop, Jia Yung Dance Troupe, Melody Dance, Winchester Dance Group, Century Chinese School Dance Group, Natick Dance Group, Chelmsford Dance Group and Lexington Chinese Dance Group, all in the Boston area. Her students have won many prizes including: First Place Overall in America Dance Award Dance Competition, National America Dance Award, DanceXplosion National Dance Competition, First Place Overall in Showstopper Dance Competition, Platinum in EDC Dance Competition, KAR Dance Competition, and Platinum in Overseas Tao Lee Cup Dance Competition, etc.
JINGWEN FU, Choreographer & Instructor
Ms. Jingwen Fu graduated from Beijing Dance Academy majoring in the Chinese Classic Dance Performance and Education Combined Program in 2012. While still a student at BDA, she participated in performances at The Sixtieth National Founding Anniversary Grand Celebration, and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of Expo 2010 Shanghai China. In addition, she was also a dancer in a performing troupe touring Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, etc. After graduation, she worked for a Performing Troupe affiliated with Political Affairs Department, PLA Air Force in Beijing, with performance tours throughout China.
She is a member of Chinese Dancers Association, P.R.O.C. and has been actively engaged in dance education and has taught many students since 2014.
NINA ROSE CABRAL, Ballet Instructor
Nina Rose Cabral is a professional ballet dancer in Andover Platinum Dance, Fortitude for Dance at Manchester, NH, and Dance Academy of Windham at Salem, NH. Now she is studied at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA and pursuing in Dance. Ms. Cabral is teaching ACAS Dance Studio Class since 2015.
WINNIE LI, Ballet Instructor
Winnie Li started her ballet training at age 3 at Ballet Arts Centre, Winchester. She has participated in dance programs with Joffrey Ballet School and Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. In 2013, Winnie joined the ACAS Traditional
Chinese Dance Troupe to start her Chinese dance training. She has won the First Place prize in Chinese Classic Solo Dance category at the Seventh and Eighth New England Chinese Dance Competition sponsored by the American Chinese Art Society. She has been a Ballet Instructor for ACAS Dance Studio since 2014. Over the years, she has also enjoyed jazz, modern and contemporary dance styles.