Shen Wei Dance Arts

SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS
Shen Wei, Artistic Director

"Shen Wei's singular imagination and brilliant stagecraft brings us to strange and wondrous places."
--The Washington Post

Hailed by the New York Times as "startlingly imaginative," Shen Wei Dance Arts seeks a new approach to movement and the body for both performer and audience. Choreographer Shen Wei, a 2007 MacArthur "Genius" grant recipient, is the rare genius who uses classical techniques to challenge contemporary thinking, and integrates artistic disciplines with startling simplicity. In an era of cynicism and grit, the company stands apart as optimistic and unapologetically beautiful. This resident company of the Kennedy Center presents two of Shen Wei's acclaimed works as part of Modern Masters, the Center's celebration of American modern dance.

Within the seven sections of the abstract dance Map, Shen Wei explores the movement concepts of rotation, bouncing, internal isolation, internal circular, and individual movement to composer Steve Reich's The Desert Music, creating at first a key and then a map of the movement itself.

Shen Wei's Re- is a lyrical response to his journeys through Tibet. To the haunting chants of an exiled Tibetan nun, dancers breeze across a Mandala made of confetti, which is destroyed to make way for a moment of stirring stillness.

Performance Plus: Post-performance discussion on Wednesday, October 29, FREE with your performance ticket.