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Shen Wei Leads Fest On Journey Into Tibet (TB)
By Theodore Bale
Boston Herald
August 9, 2006
Chinese choreographer Shen Wei went to the mountains ofTibet in search of
purity. He returned with the inspiration for an unusual dance for his New
York-based company, Shen Wei Dance Arts, that it will perform at the Jacob's
Pillow Dance Festivaltonight through Sunday.
Given the enigmatic title "Re-," Shen's latest work isn't a story, but
rather, as he explained, an opportunity for the viewer to stop and think. "I
don't want to be too specific," Shen said, "but this title makes sense for
me because there are so many English words that start with these letters,
like return and renew, replace, rethink and so on. People make mistakes in
life, but they can always rethink what has been done."
Before establishing himself as one of New York's most important
choreographers, Shen co-founded China's first modern dance ensemble,
Guangdong Dance Company. Of course, his travels in Tibet raise an obvious
political question: What does he think of his native country's occupation of
the region?
cw0"Everything political in our lives depends on where your center is," Shen
said. "The relationship between China and Tibet is reported differently by
the media in various countries. I thought that if I went there myself, I
could hear both sides and assemble my own impression. It is so, so much more
complicated than what I thought."
Shen didn't remain a comfortable tourist in Lhasa, the largest city in
Tibet. Rather, he went to remote areas to visit Buddhisttemples and converse
with monks and peasants. What disturbed him most was not the invasion of
Chinese culture, but what he called "the global change" that can be found
everywhere.
cw0"The thing I worry about most is whether or not traditional Tibetan
culture can be saved," Shen said. "Maybe we can say that the Chinese have
too much influence over the Tibetan culture or maybe that they destroyed it.
But what I see now in Tibet is that the modern culture is not from China,
but from everywhere. On the streets they don't listen to Chinese pop music,
they listen to Madonna and other music from America. On television, you see
Michael Jackson."
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