SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun’s Tibetan Dance Shows the Value of Tradition and Freedom, Says Retired Aviation VP

Feb 15, 2023
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Shen Yun’s Tibetan Dance Shows the Value of Tradition and Freedom, Says Retired Aviation VP
Renee Mueller and Tom Shew at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center on Feb. 14 (Sherry Dong)
MESA, Ariz.—China cannot be identified as one and the same as the Chinese Communist Party. In fact, China has historically been incredibly diverse, and many of China’s ethnic minorities are still carrying their customs forward and passing them down.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is striving to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
“I think the beauty of the show is freedom. It’s freedom from all oppression. The freedom from oppression that we see,” said Renee Mueller, a retired vice president in the aviation industry. Ms. Mueller saw the program with Mr. Tom Shew at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center on Feb. 14.
Shen Yun’s dancers are trained in classical Chinese dance, but they are also adept in a number of traditional folk dance styles. Shen Yun features some of China’s various ethnic minorities in its production every year. This season, Tibetans dancing before snowcapped mountains was one of the pieces that audiences were able to enjoy.

“It demonstrated the strength of the people, the inner strength that allows them to enjoy the harshness of the environment that they live in. It wasn’t a fight,” commented Mr. Shew, an aerospace engineer.

The dance showed that these Tibetans live in a cold and harsh terrain, yet they are spirited people who still show their veneration to the divine through dance.

“Look to God and the powers of the earth as His blessing rather than the government for any interpretation of what they should do. The Tibetans I think have a very unique place in our world because they managed to tune out so much of the political and social turmoil to maintain their tranquil lifestyle and enjoyment of their beauty,” said Mr. Shew.

According to Shen Yun’s website, Tibetan dance is related to Tibetan lifestyle. The movements mimic the way Tibetans tread across the Himalayas or how they carry water over long distances.

“Those things transcend what’s going on in the world. It’s a joy to see that those things are being celebrated. Even in the midst of all the newspaper clippings and headlines of turmoil, we can still relate to what’s everlasting and what is truth over the millennia,” said Mr. Shew.

Shen Yun is using dance and music to remind audiences that although the world seems to be out of order, there is still hope to be found.

“Our world is a train wreck right now. And it’s nice to come see this. It shows that the world has a good place to be [and we are] reminded of what’s good in this world,” said Ms. Mueller.

One of Shen Yun’s main objectives is to let audiences see that China before communism was a beautiful place with high moral ideals.

“It’s nice to see the culture of China before communism, see the beauty and the millennia of history played out in dance. It’s very nice,” said Mr. Shew.

“I think it shows that the Chinese culture has a lot of love in it that we miss. We miss that. I think we miss it because of the divisiveness of our cultures between the U.S., and [this] helps us to understand the Chinese culture much more,” added Ms. Mueller.

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006. 
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