YU WEI: I was born at the north bank of Yangtze River in Wuhan City, China. My family consisted of my Father, Mother, younger sister and myself. At early age I was selected by the Wuhan Dance Academy to study dance. I was the only one chosen out of our school that over 3,000 students, it was a great honor. The classes were Chinese classical, folk, acrobatics, Opera-movement and western ballet, plus classes in politics, Chinese literature, history, music, and philosophy. From 6:00 AM until 8 PM the classes one right after the other. Our teachers were highly positioned dance professionals. My ballet teacher Shao Jiu-lin was taught by Russia ballet grandmaster in Beijing. They were very strict with us in class but out of class they were like our parents and took good care of us. We studied very hard we were like little soldiers with very disciplined schedules.
I love dance so much. Everyday when I stood at the bar before the mirror and moved my limbs with the piano sounds I felt it was the most beautiful moment of my life, and I felt so happy to be a dance student. Unlike other schools we do not have the Summer and Winter vacations, and only took one day off in every 2 weeks. On the infrequent days off I got up early to have a hour of ballet training, after which I could feel comfortable in going home to visit my parents. I remember one day in the hot Summer (Wuhan is the one of 4 hottest cities in China the temperature was constantly over 100 f and we did not have air-conditioning) when I was training and felt hard to breathe my whole body was sweating like I had just been in a river suddenly I fell down to the ground unconscious. When I woke up I was in the bed at the Academy's clinic.
I have always had a great dream since I was a dance student. I want to be one of the best dancers and dance beautifully, but my physical condition was not perfect, only the extra work could make a difference. When I was out of class I made time to practice my dance in every where; on the streets, in the park, even on the train and ship… I wrote daily book everyday and made the progress every day. Six years after graduating from the Academy I became a professional dancer at the Wuhan Dance and Opera Theater; a gloriously famous Theater during the 1950-1980's, with over 500 artists and workers containing 4 separate companies of Dance, Opera, Traditional Symphonic, and Western Symphonic music. Wuhan Dance and Opera Theater had several auditoriums, stage arts and costume departments, multiple rehearsal halls, an Arts-library and Restaurant, artist residences and beautiful yards filled with trees and flowers. I was so proud to be a member of this great Theater. It was a wonderful environment to have lived in and studied in my youth and to now to be influenced by all the different performing arts and learn from the other great artists in the beginning of my performing career. I loved to watch the Symphony orchestra rehearse. I stood by the door to watch the conductor flourish his baton and the musicians attack their instruments and waves the Ocean of music that sent my imagination flying.
Away from school did not mean absent from study. I knew my dreams would take me far so I continued to seek for new instructors who would lead me to more special and deeper aspects of the dance. I consider myself the lucky dancer who was given the opportunity to study dance art from some of the wisest masters in China, and this path has made my dance different. For many years, I have known that beauty not is a word, nor a personal physical attribute, but is the power of great artistry that contains many things and is most deeply expressed in the art of dance. For a long time I have struggled in the search for beauty... Finally I have found the beauty in my dance.
I have followed my dance dream from Wuhan to Guangzhou to Beijing and now to America. My dance dream is no longer a dream but a reality. I am successful and my dances have been praised for their beauty. But I know I still have a long way to go…
Yu Wei In Beijing, photo by Shen Jinsheng