Yu Wei Chinese Dance Collection
About the Dance Collection
The Yu Wei Dance Collection began in Beijing in 1992 under the art direction of nationally famous master Zhang ke.
Inspired by the synergy between dance, poetry and music that flourished in Tang dynasty China over 1200 years ago; accomplished choreographer-dancer Yu Wei presents a 90 minute multi-media performance of captivating dance visions and compelling short films that provide a feeling of the unforgettable and timeless beauty of China as expressed through the art of dance.
The dances that make up
the collection are typically 4 to 9 minutes in length. The inspiration comes
from nature, Chinese classical literature and history, and folk legend. The
original choreography is drawn from the styles of Chinese classical, folk,
ballet and modern dance.
Each dance has a short film counterpart depicting the dances’ cultural and artistic background; behind-the-scenes moments of creation; information about Chinese traditional and ethnic culture; and the underlying story of a young girl’s journey from the China’s Cultural Revolution, to recognition and success in America.
About the Dance Music
The music of Yu Wei’s dance collection is as widely ranging as the variety of her dances. The legendary 18th century composer Ar Bin is joined by contemporary Chinese composers such as Chen-gang, He Zhan-hao, He Xun-tian, Wan Li, Guo Feng, and Teng Geri. From different periods in western music come Richard Wagner, Johann Strauss, Pachelbel, Tommaso Albinoni, and Vangelis. All of these wonderful compositions are included in the Yu Wei dance collection.
About the Interval Films
Made by award-wining trio of filmmakers: Jared Martin, Geoffrey Richman and Jeremiah Zagar. The short films depict the cultural and artistic background of Yu Wei's dances providing information about her training as a classical dancer and her deep interest in Chinese folk and traditional dance, and including behind-the-scenes views of her dances being created and the people in her life: teachers, colleagues, fellow performers: plus revealing glimpses of daily existence in China and America.
Jared Martin Biography
Was an actor in Hollywood and Broadway, he’s appeared in over 25 films, 50 stage productions and 250 television shows. His series credits include “Dallas” for which he originated the role of ‘Dusty’, “How the West Was Won”, “War of the Worlds”, and “The Fantastic Journey”. He starred on Broadway in the Tony award winning “Torch Song Trilogy”. As a writer and photographer, his poetry has been anthologized and his photographs exhibited in both group and single shows. A graduate of Columbia University.
Is Co–Founder and Artistic Director of Philadelphia’s celebrated youth media center, the Big Picture Alliance. He has directed over 30 films and stage productions; receiving awards from Cine Eagle, Intercom, and the Chicago International Film Festival. He currently teaches Film and Acting at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
Jared Martin is the writer and director of the Yu Wei Interval films.
Yu Wei Biography
Praised for being a “special artist and a gifted, sensitive dancer” and “a brilliant dance star,” Yu Wei is a prodigiously talented choreographer and dancer from China, whose captivating dance visions have been holding American audiences spellbound.
Satisfied audiences everywhere have been enthralled by Yu Wei’s dance style, which integrates Chinese traditional, folk, western ballet and modern dance traditions with powerful short films to create a performance of vivid imagery and artistic power. Influenced by the synergy between dance, poetry and music that flourished during the Tang Dynasty, Yu Wei’s dance art is both symbolic and expository in nature. At times, the work casts the dancer as a central figure in a story; other times the dancer is interacting with forces of nature, or embodying an emotion or natural movement.
Yu Wei has won numerous awards and recognition in her native China. Since coming to America in 2000, she has performed in dozens of venues, including Manhattan Center in New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Her interactive educational workshops and residency programs on Chinese culture and Asian dance aesthetic are available for all ages. Intervals, the award-winning series of films that depicts the artistic and cultural background of her dances, is available on DVD. After viewing her performance at the 2004 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, dance critic Merilyn Jackson of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "Yu Wei took everyone's breath away with her dance Lotus - Burst of Pure Dream lying on her back with her head to the audience, she depicted how a lotus unfolds. It was pure beauty."
As a little girl, Yu Wei was selected by the Wuhan Song and Dance Theater Academy to study a broad curriculum of dance based on Chinese classical, traditional, folk dance and ballet. After graduating, she joined the Wuhan Company and soon became its principal dancer. After relocating to Beijing, Yu Wei began her long collaboration with nationally-renowned dance master Zhang Ke. She was the lead dancer of the National Ballets Lijiang River Sentiment and Yao Shan Flame. Her Dance Collection has been performed in all of China’s major cities and broadcast on National Century Television.
Since
coming to live in Philadelphia in February 2000, the Yu Wei Chinese Dance
Collection has been selected for the rosters of
Philadelphia’s Musicopia
and the
Pennsylvania Performing
Arts on Tour (PennPAT). She has received grant support and
recognition from Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, the Leeway Foundation, and
the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. The
Philadelphia Inquirer’s
Anette
John-Hall has written, “Such a beautiful dancer. There are strains of ballet,
folk and modern dance throughout her program -- she is adept at them all. With
her disproportionately long hands that flutter like a bird, Yu Wei's dancing is
all fluidity and grace."
In a special message to her audience Yu Wei says, “As a professional dancer and
choreographer, I have been studying and performing dance since childhood. I grew
up and studied dance in China, and was fortunate enough to study with the most
esteemed masters and collaborate in the development of the art of the solo
dance, both as a uniquely expressive modern form and as a revival of classical
solo forms prevalent in the Han and Tang dynasties of more than a thousand years
ago. My life in Dance has transported me into a special world in which I’ve been
privileged to follow the path that leads me closer to my goal of expressing the
beauty in life in the form of dance. I want to share my knowledge and experience
of dance with other people, and bring the differences and richness of Chinese
dance art to the western world.”