YU WEI 瑜玮 - A well-known dancer from China, whose captivating dance visions have been holding American audiences spellbound. Praised for being a ‘special artist and a gifted, sensitive dancer’, and ‘a brilliant dance star’; she is loved by her audiences everywhere. Yu Wei has performed throughout the United States, including New York’s Manhattan Center and the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC.
Natural observation, folk tradition and classical training inform Yu Wei’s dance art, which is influenced by the synergy between movement, poetry and music that flourished during the Tang Dynasty. Her dance style is unique, elegant, crystal and simplicity, and filled with the vivid imagery of life. Traditional costumes, famous music and short narrative films combine to create an exquisite performance of cultural significance and artistic power.
Taught by the national famous masters： Shao JiuLlin 邵九琳， Chen LiXin 陈立行， Liu Feng 刘凤 and Xiao YuZhen 萧玉珍... in Ballet, Chinese Classical, Fork, Ethnic dances and Art Esthetic by great master Cheng Yun 程云 and Huang JiShi 黄济世 during her formative years; Yu Wei considers herself to be one of the luckiest dancers in China.
Born in Wuhan, selected by the Wuhan Song and Dance Theater Academy to study of 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. The Wuhan Song and Dance Theater was a huge company of more than 500 artists and workers influenced by Russian dance traditions and techniques. The company was nationally prominent in the period from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Yu Wei was trained, danced and lived in Song and Dance Theater. The artistic influence and environment deeply thrilled Yu Wei’s heart, and cultivated her determination and her dream for dance. “Unlike other my classmates, I had a special love for western music when I was young, I frequently stood outside the door of the music rehearsal studio to watch and listen to the western symphony rehearsals, and I imagined myself dancing to these graceful melodies and great crashing sounds.”
After relocating to Beijing in 1992, Yu Wei began her long study and collaboration with nationally renowned dance master Zhang Ke 张苛 to create her own dances. The Yu Wei Dance Collection has performed in most of China’s major cities, has been broadcast on National Centre Television, and performed at the National Dance Association Convention.
Yu Wei has also performed as a guest artist with the Dance Companies in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces; and in Beijing with the China Song and Dance Company. She was the lead dancer of National Ballets ‘Lijiang River Sentimen’ and ‘Yao Shan Flame’. She has performed in many important national festivals such as: ‘International Youth Festival’ in Guangzhou, ‘International Television Festival Opening’ in Shanghai, ‘The China and Japan Friendship Celebration’, ‘The China National 20th Century Extraordinary Dance Exhibition’ in Beijing; and was selected as a member of the ‘China National Contemporary Famous Dancers’ tour performed in China. Yu Wei has been awarded ‘First Prize’ at the Professional Dance Skill Competition, the ‘Silver Award’ for Choreography in Hubei province and the ‘Excellence Award’ in the National First Lotus Dance Competition in Beijing.
In 2000, Yu Wei arrived in the United States, where her touring performance career took off. She now has performed in many US cities, from New York’s Manhattan Center to Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, presenting 50 or more solo concerts and workshops every year. Yu Wei also has performed extensively abroad, in Korea, England and Canada, and has returned to China many times as well.
Currently residing in Philadelphia, Yu Wei is on the roster of Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour. She has received many grants and support and recognition from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Leeway Foundation, and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, among others.
"Yu Wei 瑜玮 came to me as a master student in late 1992, she is the second student I have accepted after *Yang Li-ping 杨丽萍. Yu Wei has a mastery of the diverse disciplines of modern, traditional, folk and ballet. As a choreographer and performer her sinuous line and lyrical grace are expressed in an unique style. Her approach to dance embodies respect for the past with a breadth of imagination that reinvigorates old forms. Her art is both unique and exquisite. She is an outstanding figure of China."
* Yang Li-ping 杨丽萍 and Yu Wei 瑜玮 were the only two dance performing art master students that Mr. Zhang Ke accepted.
ZHANG KE 张苛
Mr. Zhang Ke has the reputation of being "A rare genius" director in the Chinese dance world, was the vice President of China National Ethnic Dancers Association and the professor of the Dance Department of The National Ethnic University of China. Mr. Zhang Ke has directed more than hundred national dance ballets and events throughout China; and has published cultural and aesthetic articles and poems about dance on newspapers, journals and national dance magazines throughout China. Mr. Zhang is still directing and lecturing art and dance companies throughout China.
"Yu Wei has been my best student, She loves dance as her life and has the excellent sense of dance. She is one of the most actively creative and charming young dancers of China. She searches for truth in art and beauty in life. She is the daughter of dance."
HUANG Ji SHI 黄济世
Mr. Huang JiShi is a national well-known folk dance master, a special recipient of the Contribution Reward from the Ministry of Culture of the Central Government of China. Mr. Huang is a living treasure of ‘De Yang-Ge’ folk dance style, which originated in Hebei province. DYG is one of the most beautiful and also most difficult folk dance styles in China. Mr. Huang was a board member of the directors of the ‘China National Dancers Association’. He has taught ‘De Yang-Ge’ folk dance in Academies and Dance Companies throughout China. He has also published dance articles on diverse national news media. He is the
author of the book “De Yang Ge in Hebei East”.