There are dozens of galleries and performance spaces in the Washington, D.C. area, but few actually allow you to observe as an original work is created each night.

In performances of Connect Transfer by Shen Wei Dance Arts in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall this weekend, twelve dancers will create a new work each evening with “live action painting” using varying colors of tempura paint on a white canvas. Fusing dance, music, and visual art, a different creation comes to life each time Connect Transfer is performed.

Shen Wei Dance Arts is still a young company— it was formed just eight years ago at the annual American Dance Festival, by Chinese artist Shen Wei. The ensemble has become well-known in this short period of time, in part because of talent and part because of its willingness to be innovative. The New York Times has noted that “Mr. Shen is pushing into new territory, exploring inventive and daring movement but also altering the way movement can be perceived.”

Photo courtesy of The Kennedy Center and Shen Wei Dance Arts