Shen Wei Dance Arts celebrates its 10^th Anniversary Season from November 29 – December 4, 2011 at Park Avenue Armory with the World Premiere of Shen Wei’s Undivided Divided, an ambitious site-specific work commissioned by the Armory, where the company has been Artists-in-Residence for the past sixteen months.  Park Avenue Armory is located at 643 Park Avenue (between 66^th and 67^th Streets), New York City.  Tickets are $35 and are available by calling the Park Avenue Armory Ticket Hotline at 212-933-5812 or by visiting www.ArmoryonPark.org. 

With the compositional rigor of a visual artist (the choreographer typically designs his own sets, costumes and make-up), Shen Wei incorporates vivid colors, striking design, and imaginative use of space into theatrical, kinetic paintings. Often staging his dances on a grand scale with a high level of production detail, his works have been celebrated for their “gorgeous visual imagery” (The London Times).

Following his creative exploration as a Park Avenue Armory Artist-in-Residence, Artistic Director Shen Wei and his company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, performs a bold world premiere work that heralds the next direction for the ensemble. Created during the Company’s 16-month residency at the Armory, Undivided Divided combines handcrafted scenic elements with expansive digital projection in a performance that makes dynamic use of the boundless possibilities available in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall.  Sixty 7’x7’ visually distinct squares line the floor of the drill hall, providing 60 performance zones for the Company’s 32 dancers.  Each is distinguished with its own vocabulary and aesthetic by the use of lighting, projections, and Shen Wei’s own scenic design elements.  Twelve hand-crafted and performative installations line the rear perimeter of the stage space, designed to go beyond the visual and auditory aspects of the performance and create a wholly immersive experience.  Audiences will be invited to move throughout the performance, creating moments of intimate engagement and highly individualized experiences.  The evening-length program also includes restagings of two of Shen Wei’s most celebrated works: Rite of Spring (2003), a study of deliberate versus reflexive movement set to a four-hand piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s famous composition; and Folding (2000), which combines highly stylized movement with the ethereal melodies of John Tavener and traditional Tibetan Buddhist chants.  

Undivided Divided - World Premiere (Park Avenue Armory commission)

Concept, Choreography, and Sets: Shen Wei

Original Score: Sō Percussion

Lighting Design: Jennifer Tipton

Digital Media and Animation: Josh Horowitz, Layne Braunstein

Costume Design: Austin Scarlett

Sound Design: Lawson White

Rite of Spring

Premiered: 2003 (American Dance Festival)

Choreography, Sets, and Costumes: Shen Wei

Music:  Igor Stravinsky (Four-hand piano version recorded by Fazil Say)

Lighting: Jennifer Tipton

Folding

Premiered: 2000 (originally created for China’s Guangdong Modern Dance Company)

Choreography, Set, Costume, and Make Up: Shen Wei

Music: John Tavener and Tibetan Buddhist Chants

Lighting: Jennifer Tipton