Shen Wei Dance Arts Returns to the Kimmel Center with a Fusion of Imaginative Dance, Theater, Chinese Opera, Painting and Sculpture February 15 to 17
January 14, 2008
"The visual and emotional impact is overwhelming."
Hailed by The New York Times as "startlingly imaginative," Shen Wei Dance Arts explores new dance in the 21st century with the hybridism of Eastern and Western cultures as part of their return engagement to the Kimmel Center on Friday-Saturday, February 15-16, 2008 at 7:30pm and Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 2:30pm. For choreographer Shen Wei, the performance space becomes a canvas for multi-layered works; at times fluid, sparse, and idiosyncratic, performers display the research of original movement through the fusion of dance, theater, Chinese opera, painting and sculpture art forms. The program will feature two Philadelphia premieres including "Map," set to Steve Reich’s "The Desert Music"; and "Re-," based on the spirituality of Tibet’s culture, people and land with music sung by Choying Dolma, a Tibetan nun.
"The work is richly imagistic. Shen Wei shapes his movement in a stream of painterly or sculptural tableaux that recall both classical statuary and surrealism."
Following the performance, an Artist Chat will be held on Perelman Stage with choreographer and Artistic Director Shen Wei, members of the Shen Wei Dance Arts ensemble and the Kimmel Center’s Director of Programming Tom Warner.
Tickets for Shen Wei Dance Arts are priced at $34 and $44 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center, through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
“Shen Wei choreographs in sculptural images. His motions are controlled, precise and spare….The focus of the dancers is pointed and consuming, and the audience follow suit. Simultaneously ritualistic and stylistic, we can’t help but be seduced.”
Shen Wei Dance Arts seeks a new approach to movement and the body for the performer and audience. With each work, Artistic Director Shen Wei develops an original physical vocabulary based on movement research. The choreography, at turns representational and abstract, incorporates Eastern and Western aesthetics and strong scenic elements to create a total, hybrid mise-en-scene. Formed in 2000 at the American Dance Festival, Shen Wei Dance Arts has evolved into one of the top dance ensembles world wide. In addition to repeated engagements at the American Dance Festival (1995, 2000-2007), Lincoln Center Festival (2003-2005, 2007), and the Venice Biennale (2004, 1005), Shen Wei Dance Arts has appeared in renowned festivals around the world, from Spoleto to Jacob’s Pillow, Dublin to Rome, from Montpellier to Hong Kong to Mexico City to Sydney. In 2005, Shen Wei Dance Arts made their Kimmel Center debut, co-presented with the Philly Fringe / Live Arts Festival. That same year, the company received Australia’s Helpmann Award for Best Ballet or Dance Work when it was presented by the Sydney Festival in association with Sydney Opera House. In May 2007, the company initiated a five-year residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. In June 2007, the company became the first dance company presented in Frank Gehry’s Disney Hall in Los Angeles.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
The presentation of Shen Wei Dance Arts is made possible in part by a grant from Dance Advance, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Friday-Saturday, February 15-16, 2008 | 7:30pm
Sunday, February 17, 2008 | 2:30 pm
Perelman Theater
Movers & Shakers
Shen Wei Dance Arts
Map (2005), set to Steve Reich’s "The Desert Music"
Music by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes Company, publisher and copyright owner.
Section 1: Rotation Map
Section 2: Bouncing Map
Section 3: Internal Isolation Map
Section 4: Internal Circular Map
Section 5: Internal Individual Map
Section 6: Bouncing Map 2
Section 7: The Map
Re- (Part I) (2006) by Steve Reich
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Friday, February 15, 2008 | Post-show
Perelman Theater Stage
Artist Chat with Shen Wei Dance Arts
Following the performance, an Artist Chat will be held on Perelman Stage with choreographer and Artistic Director Shen Wei, members of the Shen Wei Dance Arts ensemble and the Kimmel Center’s Director of Programming Tom Warner.
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