Born in Kaohsiung and currently based in Taichung, Po-Chieh Chen is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans creation, performance, curation, and teaching. She is currently the Artistic Director of Ars Association
Chen graduated cum laude from the Conservatory of Dance at the State University of New York, Purchase College, majoring in Dance Composition. During her time in New York, she received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence and the Bert Terborgh Dance Award. She performed in works by renowned choreographers, including José Limón, Mark Morris, Doug Varone, Ayako Kurakake, Pascal Rioult, Thang Dao, and Shen Wei. In 2002, she represented the Purchase Dance Corps at the Global Dance 2002 Festival in Düsseldorf, performing Legacy by Lin Hwai-min. Following her graduation, she joined Elisa Monte Dance (New York) as company dancer.
After returning to Taiwan in 2004, Chen expanded her career into arts programming, production, and curation, working with Lan Yang Dance Theatre, Cloud Gate 2, and the Performing Arts Alliance (PAA). In 2015, she joined the National Taichung Theater (NTT) as Assistant to the Artistic Director, later serving as Associate Manager of the Creative Engagement Division. Her role involved curatorial development, arts education initiatives, international cultural exchange, and the production of interdisciplinary programs.
In 2021, Chen co-founded Ars Association with designer Yu-Fen Chen, focusing on body-centric creative practices that explore personal history, social awareness, and the body’s essence.
Recent works include Welcome to My Dance Floor (2022), premiered at the We Island Dance Festival: Shulin Jump, and Ayla – The First Visit (2022), co-produced by Ars Association, Weiwuying Circus Platform, Yunlin International Puppet Theater Festival, and Taoyuan Iron Rose Festival. In 2024, she created Locus, touring in Taichung and Kaohsiung, and Sketch Series 1: The Near Elsewhere, in the Geography of Seeing and Not Seeing, co-created with Yu-Fen Chen and premiered at the 2024 Want to Dance Festival. She also presented work-in-progress Possibility of Presence at Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s Spring Riot. Additionally, Chen was invited to serve as Movement Designer and Coach for Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles) at the National Taichung Theater (NTT) in 2024.
In 2025, her new works will be presented, including The Other Among Us, Possibility of Presence, Sketch Series 1: The Near Elsewhere, in the Geography of Seeing and Not Seeing (Theater Version), and the Ayla series.
Chen is actively involved in the international performing arts community as a Board member of the Performing Arts Development Network Association (PANDA) and a member of the Asian Producers’ Platform (APP). She is also part of the Taiwan Dancing Forward Collective and was selected for Mekong Cultural Hub’s 2024 Curated Conferences Project.