Shen Wei Dance Arts

Fri.-Sat., Feb. 15-16, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 17, 2:30 p.m., $34-$44, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

by Deni Kasrel

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Published: Feb 13, 2008

dance

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When it comes to high concept, it doesn't get more elevated than Shen Wei Dance Arts, a company that revels in abstract works drawing on facets of the titular director's eclectic background — including fine art, music, theater and Eastern and Western dance styles. With each piece, Wei aims to create a different movement vocabulary, and for the company's appearance at the Kimmel Center this weekend, two dances present distinct approaches. "We're showing the different layers of the music, which is very complex," says dancer Jessica Harris about the energetic and aerobic Map, performed to Steve Reich's Desert Music. "We studied the score and all the different counts, which aren't in any kind of logic or order. They're pretty random. We're playing with the music through our bodies." Inspired by a trip Wei took to Tibet, the other piece on the program, Re-, is meditative and flowing. "The altitude in Tibet is so high, they're much more efficient with their breath, and with their meditation they practice breath techniques a lot," says Harris. "He created the seeds of this piece from that experience."

Fri.-Sat., Feb. 15-16, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 17, 2:30 p.m., $34-$44, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.

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