Wang Xuejun is an Australian ballet dancer of Chinese descent, as well as a performer of Chinese classical and folk dance. He trained at the Beijing Dance Academy, and has performed as a principal dancer with Australia Sydney Dance Company. More recently he has been a principal dancer and choreographer for the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts.^[1]

Wang was born in Beijing, China, in 1963. He was singled out at a young age to train at the Beijing Dance Academy, being selected on the basis of his body conditions, which were deemed ideal for dance.^[2] From 1978 to 1984, he performed as a principal dancer with the Guangzhou Ballet and then the Guangdong Dance Theatre.^[3][4]

In 1991, Wang left China and received a humanitarian visa in Australia, later becoming an Australian citizen.^[5] After arriving in Australia, Wang performed with the Sydney Festival Ballet.^[3] In 1992, he joined the Sydney Dance Company, where he became a principal dancer and performing in productions such as "Black and Blue," "Beauty and the Beast,"^[2] Trivoli,^[6] and Ellipse.^[7]

In October 2005, Wang was in Shanghai in a production of the Legend of Mulan with the Sydney Dance Company. During rehearsals, he was arrested by Chinese immigration officials because he had handed literature identified as "pro-democracy" to someone.^[3] In his hotel room, authorities also found literature on Falun Gong, a meditation practice that is persecuted in China. Wang and his wife—who is also a professional dancer—have practiced Falun Gong since the mid-1990s. He was deported back to Australia while still in his rehearsal clothes, and was unable to perform in the production.^[3][5]

In 2006 Wang joined Divine Performing Arts (later renamed Shen Yun Performing Arts), making the transition from ballet to traditional Chinese dance. He has performed as a principal dancer in addition to serving as a choreographer.^[8][9] Wang views his role with Shen Yun as being to educate people about traditional Chinese culture: "We try to explore this history in terms of modern society, to let people know how good and beautiful our culture truly is.^[2]