Taproot Tai Chi

Dear Taproot Community, 

This Spring 15 Goals Tai Chi will be making our debut performance! I am very honored to have been selected to participate as a presenter at Pace University’s Spring Research Conference. This year’s theme resonated strongly with our project in process: Register Now for Innovative Solutions to Contemporary Challenges: Scholarly Creativity in the Service of Humanity.

May 8th, 9-5 PM. 

One Pace Plaza

New York, NY 10038

15 Goals Tai Chi is scheduled to present at 2:30 PM. I look forward to sharing a bit of my story and my educational mission, getting scholars, leaders, and creatives on their feet, screening our short video, and sharing the Q&A with my colleagues and co-presenters. Full program info below. 

Saturday, April 26th is World Tai Chi Day! For those in NYC, the annual gathering will be held at Pier 57 starting at 10AM. This promises to be the most fun push hands meet of the year, rain or shine.

While classes are quiet and newsletters will continue to be more occasional as I prepare for a special delivery this summer, I’m still offering private sessions (both in person and virtually) in NYC and Monroe, NY. Thinking of competing with the US team this year? We are actively recruiting! Contact me at taproottaichi@gmail.com 

Thanks for keeping in touch. Thanks for contributing your practice to the art. 

Happy Earth Day!

Sifu Ilona Bito

May 8th, 2025

Pace Spring Research Conference 2:30 PM 

Presentation: Teaching 15 Goals: Tai Chi for Global Sustainable Development  

Presenter: Ilona Bito, MAT (Adjunct Assistant Professor, Sands College of Performing Arts, NYC)

This presentation explores 15 Goals Tai Chi, an innovative approach that integrates martial arts with global development education to promote awareness of the first 15 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By blending somatics, performance psychology, and intergenerational learning, this project enables participants to recite and remember each SDG through movement. The session includes a live demonstration of key Tai Chi moves, inviting the audience to participate in learning the first movement (End Poverty). The presentation also discusses its potential to support the UN’s educational mission in diverse communities worldwide.

Bio:

Ilona Bito holds a Masters in The Art of Teaching from Sarah Lawrence College. She received her tai chi teacher certification from the WCC Chen School of Tai Chi Chuan. She is currently assistant adjunct professor of Tai Chi in Pace University’s Sands College of Performing Arts. Ilona is the founder of Taproot Tai Chi LLC, and Push Hands Now. In Taiwan in 2023, she won the Tai Chi Push Hands World Championship. In Spain in 2024, she received the highest honor of “Best Female Competitor.” Bito co-created the two minute “15 Goals” tai chi form with her husband and coach James McConnell, who has taught tai chi in NYC for over 30 years, including teaching at the United Nations.