Acclaimed as “one of the great artists of our time,” Hunan-born choreographer Shen Wei is arguably the most lauded dancer internationally to come from the mainland. A winner of distinguished prizes at home and abroad, the 2003 winner of the Nijinsky Emerging Choreographer Award has never ceased his artistic exploration.
When Shen Wei stunned the world with his calligraphy dance and choreography at the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, the Washington Post declared “the world knows Shen Wei now.”
Sadly, the reality is that his creations have always found more attention on international stages than at home. The son of an opera director and a theater producer, Shen studied classical Chinese opera in his youth. He became a member of the Hunan State Xian Opera Company from 1984 to 1989, but left to attend the Guangzhou Modern Dance Company to indulge his newfound passion for modern dance.
A founding member of China’s first modern dance company, the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, Shen moved to New York City after being invited to study at the Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab. That three-month scholarship has turned into an over two-decade long stay as the reputation of his Shen Wei Dance Company has soared internationally due to the Natural Body Development style that Shen has created and refined for the past decade.
He’s hoping to increase the Shen Wei Dance Company's profile in his native country when he bring a joint production of two of their iconic works, Near the Terrace and Map to Shanghai (Nov 7-8 @ Shanghai Grand Theater), Beijing (Nov 12-13 @ NCPA Opera House) and Zhuhai (Nov 18-19 @ Zhuhai Huafa Zhongyan Grand Theatre).
Despite being released five years apart, Shen describes each show as representing “a typical, yet different style of mine.”
“It’s going to be interesting to present them together on the stage,” he admits. “Having said that, I hope both pieces present refreshing artistic ideas that will echo with the audience.”
Since its premiere at the 2001 American Dance Festival, Near the Terrace has been lauded as an example of Shen’s distinct dream-like style of movement.
“The combination of stage setting and dancing – the way the dancers move together – renders a sphere of surrealism,” he explains. “It’s a reflection of the calm and peaceful inner state I had when creating this work.”
While he will have to make some adjustments to the piece, which prominently features either half-naked or nude dancers, he’s confident they will find the proper clothing material “that won’t affect the show visually nor its dream-like landscape.”
It’s a striking contrast from Map, which premiered five years later at the Lincoln Center Festival. Set to excerpts from minimalist legend Steve Reich’s The Desert Music, Shen describes the performance as “rational and almost mathematical.”
“The whole dance consists of scenes of continuous movements,” he adds. “During that process, the audience will follow along to discover the potential of their bodies. The show marked my growth as a choreographer.”
With strong roots in Chinese and Western modern dance, Shen has been lauded for balancing elements of both worlds in his work in unconventional ways. Later works like The Second Visit of the Empress and his Re-triptych were inspired by his personal journeys across China from 2005 to 2009.“
Cultures are rich,” he notes. “You have to understand them fully instead of turning to particular symbols. One of my early works, Folding, does not adapt Oriental elements in terms of expression but is deeply rooted in the culture.”
However, the 2007 MacArthur Award winner refuses to be pinned down to any style. For the past six years Shen’s works have increasingly incorporated other art forms like large-scale multimedia work, as well as original art creations spanning video and animation.
He’s happy that contemporary dance audiences have grown in China but notes time is important for the art form to being fully accepted.
“I think audiences still confuse entertainment and art,” he admits. “They need to realize that the latter is created to inspire self-improvement, rather than pleasing the public.”
Shanghai: Nov 7-8, 7.15pm, RMB80-880. Shanghai Grand Theater.
Beijing: Nov 12-13, 7.30pm, RMB80-580. NCPA Opera House.
Zhuhai: Nov 18-19, 8pm, RMB100-680. Zhuhai Huafa Zhongyan Grand Theatre
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