In 1995, he left everything behind and moved to New York after receiving a scholarship from the Nikolais/Louis Dance Theater Lab. Five years later, he founded his own dance company, the New York-based Shenwei Dance Arts.

In July 2007, nearly two decades after Shen's fateful switch to modern dance, the now-celebrated choreographer honored his memories with a New York premiere at his first dance-opera Second Visit to the Empress, or erjingong, which was also one of the first operas he learned back in Hunan.

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In retrospect, Shen says his decision to pursue modern dance was in a sense precipitated by the larger social climate of the time.

"It was in the late 1980s, and there was a hunger for change in the Chinese society," says Shen, who has taken dozens of trips to various parts of the country in the past year.

"I went to the ancient Silk Road, to see how China has reached out and been reached by the outside world today as well as Tuesday. The country is on a fast train of change."

Luckily for Shen, he thrives in an atmosphere of change. In anticipation of the Opening Ceremony, Shen has been working with top-notch Chinese dancers since December, preparing them for a different world on the Olympic stage.

"It's tough because these dancers, amazing as they are, have no previous modern dance training. I have to show them how to use their bodies in a completely new way - to explore every possibility," he says. "I want the audience to look and say, 'I've never seen people move this way, but it's still beautiful'."