Dongli Dance Studio, based in West Windsor, received multiple awards at the American IDC Regional Dance Competition in April at Williamstown High School. Most of the dancers live in West Windsor and Plainsboro. Dongli Li, a former professional dancing artist and choreographer in China, promotes Chinese dances.
Performances included ballet, modern dances, and international dances. More than 10 dances were variations of Chinese dance. Dongli Dance Studio entered American International Dance Challenge (IDC) with “Happy Water,” a Chinese Dai styled small group dance, and “Fragrance of Straw,” a large group dance.
“Happy Water” brought home a first place in Platinum Challenge, an award for Best Emotional, and a second place in overall performance among more than 20 best dances that entered into the challenge from all over New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. It was performed by Emily Luo, Allison Liu, and Michele Pan.
“Fragrance of Straw” sported equally impressive achievements and emerged from the same talent pool with a first place in High Golden Challenge, and an award for Best Choreography. Performers include Kathy Chen, Kelly Chen, Tiffany Chen, Catherine Chu, Amy Deng, Karen He, Luna Lee, Elena Li, Emily Luo, Allison Liu, Allison Lu, Lili Marianik, Michele Pan, Jennifer Tong, Serena Wang, Katherine Yang, and Joyce Zhu.