Chinese-American choreographer Shen Wei is using one of New York’s most cavernous spaces to premiere his latest dance.

But for the man behind the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics nothing is too big.

The Park Avenue Armoury in Manhattan, a one-time military drill hall, hosts Undivided Divided and by the sound of things anything less than that vast hangar-style roof might not have been able to contain Mr Wei’s creative flair.

“It will be something nobody experienced before and I have never tried,” Mr Wei said during a break in final rehearsals for the show.

Performed by the Shen Wei Dance Arts company, Undivided Divided combines dancers painting as they move, digital projections, and what is billed as a “wholly immersive experience” in which audiences will be inside the set.

At the rehearsal, dancers were not even able to go through all the new production since all that paint would have to be cleared up in time for the premiere. Mr Wei, though, seemed to revel in the uncertainty that a partially-rehearsed show promises.

“I don’t know what will work,” he said. “The performance, will be like the whole journey of life and not just trying to set up a repeat. There’s nothing repeat in our lives.”

The Chinese-born American has won global fame for his mastery of dance, his bridging of East and West, and skill at combining different performance arts.

Originally created for China’s Guangdong Modern Dance Company, Folding sees wraith-like figures in long black or red skirts glide across the huge stage space in the middle of the Armoury, twisting and bending as if blown in the wind.

Asian artists, Mr Wei said, are “more internal”, whereas his Western colleagues are “more external,” but also “more sharp, more dynamic”.

But then Mr Wei added the nuance: “Chinese dancers may try to find out the answer by themselves,”he said. “That’s the good part. In the West, some people just ask questions – and they don’t want to find out the answer”.