HSU CHEN WEI

Chen-Wei Hsu is a Taiwanese choreographer and performer whose work delves into the spiritual, emotional, and existential dimensions of the body. Known for his quiet intensity and poetic movement language, Hsu’s choreographic voice is shaped by his upbringing in a family involved in traditional Taiwanese funeral practices—a background that profoundly influences his artistic exploration of life, death, and transformation.

Hsu views the body as a vessel of memory, emotion, and ritual. His choreography is often minimal yet deeply charged, investigating how slowness, weight, and breath can evoke presence, vulnerability, and inner shifts. His works frequently draw from Taoist cosmology, religious processions, and other Eastern spiritual frameworks, but are rendered through a contemporary lens that resonates across cultural borders.

After graduating from Taipei National University of the Arts, Hsu founded Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company to develop a platform for his choreographic research. His creations often feature immersive spatial arrangements, meditative pacing, and a collaborative spirit with composers, designers, and dramaturgs. With a growing international presence, Hsu has toured and performed across Asia and Europe, presenting works that blur the lines between ritual, performance, and collective experience.

Beyond the stage, Hsu is also committed to cross-generational engagement, frequently leading workshops and participatory art projects in healthcare and community settings. He believes that dance has the power not only to move bodies but to create healing, remembrance, and dialogue.

Hsu’s recent works, including Sàng Tsáu—a dance ritual inspired by the Taoist practice of sending off spirits, have been noted for their sensitivity, formal clarity, and cultural depth. As both a choreographer and performer, Hsu continues to explore how the ephemeral nature of dance can open space for reflection, transformation, and connection—between the living and the dead, the self and the collective, the seen and the unseen.