Artistic Statement
I firmly believe that the life of art and the art of life are one. Artistic practice and research are inseparable, as both are driven by inquiries into humanity and probing how we, interconnected with everyone and everything, shape the world with its gifts and traumas from history.
Educational Background
PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne
MFA (Dance), Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
MA (Dance Education), Steinhardt, New York University
BFA (Dance), Victorian College of the Arts
BA (Philosophy), Fudan University
Practitioner Qualifications
Certified Movement
Analyst(CMA)
Registered Somatic Movement Educator(RSME/T)
GYROTONIC®️ & GYROKINESIS®️ Pre-trainer
Franklin Method Educator
RYT-500 (Yoga Alliance)
Email
weichencui19@gmail.com
Instagram
weichen_cui
RedNote
金刚未尘Weichen
Shan Gao Shui Chang 山高水长 explores the transformation of movement into paint, paper and sound through the use of conductive paint, contact mics, machine learning and electronic circuits. By exploiting the body's natural conductive ability and the sonic potential of everyday objects, we’re creating landscapes that are full of both visual and sonic textures, inviting people into an immersive and visceral experience. The work comes from our nomadic experience through different countries and cultures, and feelings of nostalgia and displacement.
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New Music Studio,
Martyn Myer Arena,
Melbourne,
Australia,
Aug 2024.
Co-exist is a contemporary dance work I created for the Fudan University Student Dance Troupe, commissioned by the Art Education Center of Fudan University. Premiering in Shanghai in 2023, it won First Prize and later claimed the First Prize in Dance Performance and the Excellence Award for Choreography at the 2024 National University Arts Festival in Hubei.
Co-exist invites audiences to experience the beauty of unity in diversity and the profound connections that emerge when people come together to share their stories through movement.
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National University Students’ Art Showcase，
Shanghai & Hubei,
China,
Nov 2023 - Jun 2024.
Greetings to the loss of cells and memories in my body, leaves in fall, and the moon yesterday.
HEY is the first dance work Weichen created after returning to Melbourne. Originally from China, Weichen has spent over a decade navigating a nomadic life, dancing across Australia and the United States. This piece emerges from the intersections of personal transformation and the passing of time, drawing on her reflections about the human body’s continual renewal—its metabolism—and its connection to nature, culture, and society.
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Melbourne Fringe Festival,
Melbourne,
Australia,
Oct 2023.
Roots was inspired by a humble lucky bamboo I kept beside the sink in the Long Island City apartment I was staying. The bamboo floated quietly in the water, showing no sign of growth, as if frozen in time. Yet, every time I changed its water and pulled it from the vase, I could feel its silent progress. I vividly remember how the kitchen light that evening passed through the glass vase, casting the shadow of its submerged roots onto the table—dappled, swaying. In that patch of light and shadow, I felt as if I could truly see something growing.
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Tisch Dance: A Goodbye Performance,
Jack Crystal Theater,
New York,
U.S.,
May 2022
At its core, Everything asks: What makes a movement functional? What imbues it with expressive power? And how do these two aspects intertwine and transform in a performance context? Drawing on Laban and Bartenieff’s theories, Everything explores the duality of Function and Expression through the lenses of Body, Shape, Effort, and Space, delving into the nuanced transitions between them.
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Tisch Dance: A Goodbye Performance,
Jack Crystal Theater,
New York,
U.S.,
May 2022
A Goodbye Trio marked the culmination of my MFA journey at Tisch and was the final dance for me, Chiemi, and Morgan at Tisch Dance. Created as a response to the 2011 Re:Rosas! project, it was built around the second section, “Come Out,” from Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s iconic 1982 work, Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich.
My gratitude for this camaraderie—was woven into the playfulness and humor of the choreography, turning our final dance into a heartfelt thank-you and a joyful celebration of our time together.
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Tisch Dance: A Goodbye Performance,
Jack Crystal Theater,
New York,
U.S.,
May 2022
May You Live Long and Happy is both a continuation of and a response to Chiemi Ip’s earlier works, as well as a farewell gift to her. Privately, we named it “The Doggie Piece” because its inspiration came from a short film, Dog Duet (1975), by William Wegman, shared by our Professor Wendy Perron during a seminar. I was deeply captivated by the seemingly random yet oddly synchronized head movements of the two Weimaraners sitting side by side in the film. Together with Chiemi, I explored and extended this idea of connection—at once accidental and predestined—in the choreography.
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Fertile Ground,
Green Space,
New York,
U.S.,
Jun 2022.
I often think of my body as a double bass—resonant and grounded when in harmony with others, yet unconventional and unpredictable when brought to the forefront. In this work, Adrienne explored a variety of extended double bass techniques, such as one note, tremolo, pizzicato, double stop, percussive effects, and bow pressure variations, among others. Meanwhile, I interpreted these sounds through movement, translating the textures, contours, and even colors they evoked into embodied expression.
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Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan,
The Lambert Center for Arts + Ideas,
New York,
U.S.,
Dec
2021.