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WASHINGTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company, attracts a variety of people of various faiths and backgrounds. At the opening night at the Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 29, two priestesses, both from Switzerland and belonging to religious orders, expressed their delight at their perception of spirituality in the performances.
Brigitte Capaul, who saw Shen Yun before in Geneva in 2008, said the performance presented “beautiful, very disciplined dances.”
Her eyes beheld “a perfection and a grace and strength and a passion also and a lightness in all those movements that cannot but show that there must be something more in it than just the [physical] body.”
By being “absolutely beautiful,” expressing perfection, grace, “obedience and discipline, “it shows the “divine aspect of what you try to live,” Capaul said.
Shen Yun, based in New York, tours the world with the mission of reviving the 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture.
Another priestess, who identified herself as Ariane, said she was glad Shen Yun was bringing “back the spirituality to the country that denies spirituality,” making a reference to the current communist regime in China.
“What I saw tonight is the precision, and the discipline, and beauty, the grace of the ladies, the strength of the [men], and again the message of hope,” said Ariane.
Shen Yun performances present the true traditional Chinese culture.
“Mortals and divine beings merge on stage as one. Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution, all come to life, washing over the audience,” states the Shen Yun website.
“Originating from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, these ideals are the essence of traditional Chinese culture.”
Ms. Capaul discussed the hope that she felt the performances bring. “For me it was just so beautiful to see how [Shen Yun artists] connect spirituality with our life here and [Shen Yun artists] bring it really here as a real thing that belongs to our world here we’re living in. …that’s a beautiful message because it gives the people hope.”
Ms. Capaul was glad to see another picture of the cultural life of China than the one shown by communism of the last 60 years. She said that it shows the “real China.”
Shen Yun is currently unable to perform in China because of the ruling communist regime, which nearly decimated the ancient culture.
“Completely independent of the Chinese regime, we enjoy the artistic freedom of New York to bring these ancient legends and virtues back to life,” the company’s website states.
Ariane said her order was steeped in Chinese culture. She said five of the sisters from her church attended the performance because of their interest in Chinese culture, and that four more were coming tomorrow.
Reporting by NTD Television and Gary Feuerberg.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun New York Company is performing in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center Opera House from Jan 30 -- Feb 3 For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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