Organization: SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS INC
Mission: SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS IS DEDICATED TO THE CREATION, PRESENTATION, AND DISSEMINATION OF THE WORKS OF ARTISTIC DIRECTOR SHEN WEI, WHOSE MOVEMENT- BASED WORKS ARE AN INNOVATIVE FUSION OF EAST AND WEST, DRAWING ON INFLUENCES FROM CONTEMPORARY DANCE, CHINESE OPERA AND ARTS, WESTERN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, AND THE RITUAL POWER OF ANCIENT DRAMA. THE COMPANY ASPIRES TO FOSTER CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGUES OF WESTERN AND ASIAN AESTHETICS AND CULTURES FOR AMERICAN AND GLOBAL AUDIENCES-PROMOTING CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING THROUGH PERFORMANCES, CULTURAL DIPLOMACY, AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES. CONCOMITANT WITH THE COMPANY'S MISSION IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF DANCE LITERACY AMONG STUDENTS AND GENERAL POPULATIONS AND THE TEACHING OF THE COMPANY'S UNIQUE NATURAL BODY DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUE TO PROFESSIONAL AND PRE-PROFESSIONAL DANCERS. THE COMPANY GIVES ANNUAL PERFORMANCES IN ITS HOME COMMUNITY OF NEW YORK CITY AND PERFORMS AT LEADING VENUES ACROSS THE US AND INTERNATIONALLY. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMM
Activities: PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS EDUCATION AND AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH IN NEW YORK CITY, SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS CONTINUED ITS COMMITMENT TO ARTS EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH WITH SUMMER AND WINTER DANCE WORKSHOPS, TWO MASTER CLASS SERIES, ARTS-IN-EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IN THE NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, FREE-TO-THE-PUBLIC SHOWINGS AND TALKS, AND PROGRAMMING FOR THE NYC DANCE COMMUNITY. ARTS-IN-EDUCATION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. SHEN WEI DANCE ARTS ALSO CONTINUED ITS ACCLAIMED ARTS-IN-EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS AT PS5 IN INWOOD AND PS1 IN CHINATOWN, PROVIDING WORKSHOPS IN ARTS AND DANCE THAT TIED BOTH TO CURRICULUM. AT PS5 OUR TEACHING ARTISTS SERVED FIVE CLASSROOMS OF THIRD GRADERS. STUDENTS EXPLORED CONCEPTS OF SPACE, SHAPE, ABSTRACTION, AND METAPHOR THROUGH DANCE AND PAINTING. THROUGH CREATIVE GAME PLAYING, STUDENTS LEARNED TOOLS TO CREATE MOVEMENT AND ART, AS WELL AS SOLVE PROBLEMS; IN THE PROCESS, THEY DEVELOPED BALANCING SKILLS AND RHYTHMIC RANGE AND LEARNED HOW TO REPLICATE MOVEMENT. THE LESSONS EXPLORED THE MANY WAYS THE BODY CAN CREATE AND MOVE THROUGH SHAPES, PROMOTING THE INVESTIGATION OF GEOMETRIC CONCEPTS IN A DIRECTLY PHYSICAL MANNER. HAVING CREATED UNIQUE THREE- DIMENSIONAL SHAPES WITH THEIR BODIES, STUDENTS CREATED TWO-DIMENSIONAL OUTLINES OF THESE SHAPES - DRAWING THEM ON PAPER. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE SHAPES ARE PAINTED. AN UNDERSTANDING OF METAPHOR AND SPATIAL BALANCE WAS DEVELOPED, AS STUDENTS WERE PROMPTED TO ANALYZE THE EXPRESSIVE NATURE OF THE COLORS, DENSITY AND, ENERGY IN THEIR PAINTINGS. AS THE PROGRAM CONTINUED, STUDENTS CHOREOGRAPHED A BRIEF SOLO DANCE BASED ON THEIR PAINTING. THEIR SOLO WORKS WERE THEN COMBINED TO FORM A GROUP DANCE. AT PS1, OUR TEACHING ARTISTS SERVED TWO CLASSROOMS OF FOURTH-GRADERS. TO BETTER SERVE OLDER STUDENTS AND THE MANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AT PS1, OUR PS5 PROGRAM WAS AMENDED TO INTEGRATE CREATIVE WRITING --- THE WRITING OF HAIKU OR SHORT POEMS--INTO THE CURRICULUM. AT PS1, STUDENTS ANALYZED THEIR POEMS FOR RHYTHM, STRESS, ENERGY, MOOD, AND MEANING AND USED THEIR POEMS TO GENERATE MOVEMENT PHRASES THAT WERE SUBSEQUENTLY INTEGRATED INTO THEIR OWN SOLO AND GROUP DANCES. AT BOTH SCHOOLS, THE PROGRAM CULMINATED WITH AN INTERACTIVE LECTURE/DEMONSTRATION IN THE SCHOOL'S AUDITORIUM WHERE OUR COMPANY DANCERS PERFORMED SELECTIONS OF SHEN WEI'S WORK AND STUDENTS SHARED THEIR OWN DANCES WITH THEIR CLASS PEERS.
NTEE category: Arts, Culture & Humanities
Secondary category: Education