President of Kojen English Centers: Shen Yun Dance ‘Pure Creativity’

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company’s third show in Taipei was staged on the afternoon of Saturday, April 2. After watching the performance, Mr. Hou Dengjian, founder and president of Kojen English Centers, a famous private company specializing in English supplementary education, said thoughtfully, “The show utilizes Chinese arts as the background and invites everyone to watch. The main theme highlights a very important idea—we ought to analyze and understand carefully [what we are told] so that we do not get lost.”

Having viewed the show several times in the past, Mr. Hou said, “The costume design this year exhibits exceptional artistic originality, which is extremely good. Brand new programs are available every year in the performance. They are made possible with pure creativity. This year, there is a program about Minnan ["Minnan" is a region in the Fujian Province of southern China]. The performance is so nice.”

Mr. Hou said, “The vigor of the dances was well adopted and fit excellently with the facial expressions of the dancers. With the utilization of the dynamic backdrop, the stagehands completed their work rapidly. … It is just extraordinary. The show presented to the audience many dances of Chinese characteristics!”

He also observed a profound depth in Shen Yun’s art presentation, saying, “The show utilizes Chinese arts as the background and invites everyone to watch. However, a very important sentence is highlighted—we ought to analyze and understand carefully so that we do not get lost. … In Chinese philosophy, we believe that you will be assisted by divine powers when you uphold justice."

Referring to the last program, The Opening of Heaven’s Gates, he said, “Justice may not be widely accepted by people in a short time. However, heaven is watching what people do. As long as you are compassionate, the divine power will help you. Human beings can do nothing to block natural disasters like the tsunami. … However, if you do well, heaven will assist you. Justice will prevail in the end. The theme of the show this year is very clear.”

Mr. Hou mentioned that this is the fourth time that he has seen the Shen Yun performance. He said, “I was here last year, too. The music performance of the orchestra is collocated with many Chinese and Western musical instruments, including drums, trumpets, violins and erhu fiddles. The collocation is just fabulous.”

“This year, I am amazed by the brand new programs of the show and the creativity that enables it. They are far-reaching and go beyond my expectations.”

Reporting by Yang Jia.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org