The mindscape, or “landscape of the soul or spirit” as Shen Wei describes it, is an area of research he has been exploring since 2023 in his paintings and dances. This concept reflects traditional Chinese philosophical ideals regarding art and spiritual pursuit as a way of life. Through self-cultivation, continuous exploration, and elevation of one’s mindscape, one attains inner harmony and transcendence. Even Shen Wei’s unique dance technique, which he calls “Natural Body Development” (taught in many university dance curricula), addresses “mental space.”
Upon arriving at the performance site at Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza, one sees Shen Wei’s signature set-up—white canvas dance floor (actually, a white plush carpet because it is more kind to the dancers’ bodies when performing on concrete) and buckets of bright-colored tempera paint at each end. At this particular site, behind the dance floor is the rectangular Paul Milstein Reflecting Pool with its glass-like surface and substantial Henry Moore Reclining Figure. And behind that is the sloping, grass-covered terrace. Shen Wei puts all these elements to use in building out his greater canvas.
Setting the piece into motion, veteran company member Zak Ryan Schlegel, wearing a bright orange unitard, circles the plaza on roller blades to a recorded score of drama-inducing Chinese drumming. A giant windmill spins over his head mounted from the pack he has strapped on his back. As he removes his props and steps onto the white canvas, we see numbers of dancers (22 to be exact) decked in colorful, bright-hued unitards infiltrating the three spaces—the slope, the water, and the canvas floor—all wearing small windmills on various parts of their body. The mood is pleasantly surreal.
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