With just a few days until the Olympics begin, the buzz surrounding what to expect from the Opening Ceremony has everyone talking - and guessing in the dark.
Anxious and excited, crazed fans, ordinary citizens and experts are obsessed as they scratch their heads to think of how the Opening Ceremony will kick-start the Beijing Games.
But, among the crowds, there are of course, those who aren't partaking in the guessing games.
Shen Wei is one such individual. In fact, the principal choreographer behind the Opening Ceremony has his lips sealed shut about the events to unfold on Friday night.
Shen Wei's signature piece Folding.
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Still, in the meantime, many cannot help but wonder how the Chinese-American has influenced the show that is expected to dazzle millions worldwide.
Will the Opening Ceremony be a spectacle of tradition, or should Olympic fans expect something a little more avant-garde? Figurative, or abstract?
"Abstract and avant-garde? I don't know - it depends on your definition of both," he says from the other end of the phone in his hotel room at the Olympic Village in Beijing. "You can tell a story in one word, or, you can tell it in one hour. But, you have got to have a statement - beauty alone could be that statement."
No luck getting an answer. Eventually, Shen coughs up a couple more words - depth and philosophy - but they, too, do not offer much in the way of Olympic details.
"I'm not interested in showing what's on the surface - you know, images that currently account for basically how people in the West see China," he says. "I want to reach deeper and go underneath. I want to show that this culture has more depth, and that it has an intriguing philosophical aspect."
Shen, who spent his time reading ancient poetry and Taoist writings when he first arrived in New York 13 years ago, is back in his home country with a double task: The Chinese need an international perspective - and the world needs to see a Chinese point of view.
Shen Wei's first dance-opera Second Visit to the Empress
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Shen, who is one of the few non-resident artists on the Olympic creative team, is expected to showcase a country that is as proud as it is progressive. Known for his painterly and idiosyncratic choreography, Shen has been called to devise a plan to please both sides.
"I have in my mind both the 1.3 billion Chinese audiences and the 5.4 billion international audiences," he says. "The choreography will not be too specific, meaning, we will not have too many of those overused cultural symbols."
"At the same time, this is not a museum show. I'm not going to use one hour to make a showcase of history that no one can understand. In an occasion like this, you've got to entertain."
For years, Shen has been creating visual spectacles, though on a much smaller scale. His signature piece Connect Transfer sees dancers sweeping their paint-dipped hands and feet on the canvas floor, a reference to his enduring passion for painting and to the free flow of Chinese ink on paper. It is the kind of creativity that has sent a powerful message to the world.
It may seem surreal, but Shen's transformation from a young migr to a leading international choreographer defies common imagination.
