Before the Games Begin, He Has Moves to Make
By Julie Bloom
The New York Times | Published: July 6, 2008
THIRTEEN years ago Shen Wei was a dancer, a choreographer and a founding member of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, the first of its kind in China. He was a rising star in his nation but craved to know more about Western dance than he could learn there. In 1995 a fellowship from the Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab brought him to New York, where he has lived ever since. Now a citizen of the United States, he is returning to his native country as a principal choreographer of the opening ceremonies of the XXIX Olympiad, one of several nonresident artists invited to design and stage the three-and-a-half-hour event.
Given China's reputation for insularity, the decision by members of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games to look outside China for the ceremony's artists is notable.
"I'm surprised that they asked me to join the team," Mr. Shen said. "I left China a long time ago." More
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