US choreographer Shen Wei to help direct Olympic ceremony

As they appear onstage, one by one, it takes a keen eye to see that their hands or feet have been dipped in paint. The secret is revealed as the dancers sweep their arms, legs and entire bodies across the canvas floor.

By the end of a recent performance at the John F. Kennedy Center of Performing Arts, the dancers had paint on their faces and in their hair. And they had left a huge, abstract artwork with a rainbow of colors.

The performance of "Connect Transfer" is an example of the work that has propelled Shen's fast-moving career in modern dance since he founded New York-based Shen Wei Dance Arts in 2000. Now Shen is taking his art to one of the world's most visible stages - the 2008 Beijing Olympics - as principle choreographer of the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies. He is the only American choreographer on the ceremonies' creative team.

China's hosting of the Olympics has prompted protests over the country's human rights record, as well as calls to boycott the opening ceremonies. But Shen sees his work as a way to bridge the cultural divides that will converge in Beijing. His Chinese-American background gives him a perspective on how to present China to the world.

"When you step out of China, sometimes you see China even more clear," he said. "Like (if) you live on the mountain, you don't know what the mountain looks like."

The 39-year-old artist moved from his homeland to New York in 1995, knowing just a few words in English: yes, no and thank you. Even though he became a U.S. citizen in 2006, he values his Chinese heritage.

"I have been touring nonstop for years to share arts, a mix of Eastern and Western cultures, to help people understand each other more," Shen said in an interview with The Associated Press. "That has made me most proud as an artist, as a human being."

The Olympic preparations brought him back to China for the first time in eight years, even though his parents and two brothers still live there.

Renowned Chinese film director Zhang Yimou is leading the opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing and invited Shen to join the creative team.

Zhang has said he's working to condense 5,000 years of history into a 50-minute film for the opening ceremony. He had expected to have the help of Steven Spielberg. But the American director dropped out in February, citing China's lack of pressure on Sudan, its oil and arms trading partner, to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Details of the Olympic choreography are secret. Shen said he signed a confidentiality contract that won't allow him to disclose the nature of the performance or even the exact number of dancers or artists, though some reports have estimated the total cast will reach 10,000. Rehearsals already have begun in Beijing.

Closing his eyes to imagine what viewers will see during the opening ceremonies in the Beijing National Stadium, Shen envisions plenty of surprises.

"I see real intensity in the space and also quiet - and the energy is underneath," he said, opening his eyes slowly.

Shen is an artist of many talents - dance, music, painting and even opera. He's the son of opera singers and takes inspiration from architecture and sculpture, as well. He creates his own sets, costumes and makeup designs, and his paintings have been exhibited in New York and Hong Kong.

Though he's a student of world cultures, Shen prefers to stay out of politics. He plans to vote in the U.S. presidential election, but doesn't talk publicly about China's human rights record.

Still, among his creations is a book of photography entitled "Tibet" that was published to raise awareness about that region. A trip to Tibet, where Shen visited communities and an orphanage, provided inspiration for the book and some of his most recent dance work.

Shen approaches such issues without political ideology but in terms of human suffering, said Brett Egan, executive director of the dance company. "It's not something he feels compelled to address in his work," Egan said.

The company's base has been primarily in New York, but it is creating a second home in Washington. Shen performed for the Kennedy Center's China Festival in 2005 and has since signed on for a five-year residency at the center - the Kennedy Center's first such commitment for a contemporary dance company.

Alicia Adams, a Kennedy Center vice president overseeing dance and international programs, said Shen has quickly become one of America's best choreographers.

"His painterly eye gives him another way to move dancers around the floor," Adams said. "He has taken the best of a Western style and combined it with an Eastern style and really has come up with another language."

In China, Shen had reached the heights of the dance scene as a founding member of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, the first such group in the country. He then received a scholarship from the Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab to move to New York.

He arrived in the United States in 1995, alone, with $500 and set out to learn as much as he could from the New York arts scene. Shen had been insulated in China and wanted a broader experience. He spent many hours going to concerts and museums to learn everything he could to develop a better sense of Western culture. His eyes were opened along the way.

"A lot of people's art works, you don't understand it, which means I feel embarrassed ... and I feel so naive," he said of his first years in New York.

People quickly noticed Shen's talent. In 1995, he was invited to present his work at the American Dance Festival, and subsequent years brought performances in Taiwan, Stockholm and elsewhere.

In 2007, Shen was honored with one of the MacArthur Foundation's "genius grants," a $500,000, no-strings-attached fellowship.

Shen said he was chosen for the Olympics because he can communicate with people regardless of their religion, lifestyle or philosophy. He wants audiences - especially people watching the Olympics on TV - to see modern dance and modern China in a new way - to see what he sees.

"I always see things in history - how this nation, this country has come through 5,000 years ... I see the life, the philosophy in Chinese culture," he said. "I'm not just seeing this moment, this year."