Mel Wong.

Mel Wong, who received the first Guggenheim fellowship awarded to a Chinese-American for choreography, died of a heart attack on July 17, 2003. Wong, who was 64, was also a visual artist.

He danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1968 to 1972. In the 1970s, he created a riveting solo that consisted of repeatedly lugging a cement block up a ramp. He also worked with water, stone, and other natural elements. After a visit to China in 1983, he developed his yo-yo solo, which wittily combined formidable yo-yo skills, learned as a child in Oakland, California, with stories about his heritage.

Wong, had taught in many colleges, including the University of California at Santa Cruz where he had been on the faculty since 1989. He was known as a mentor to a wide range of students

Beth Soll, a fellow choreographer who had worked with Wong, said, "His dances had a mysterious sense of spiritual transformation."

He is survived by his wife, Connie Kreemer, and three daughters. Contributions in his memory may be sent to the Mel Wong Dance Foundation Inc., 201 Dickens Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95064.