DETROIT—The Chinese classical dancing that graced the stage of the Detroit Opera House on Saturday evening, Jan.28, delighted ballroom dancing couple, Roland and Carol Eschbach.
Shen Yun Performing Arts was displaying five millenia of ancient Chinese culture in a repertoire of story based dances, accompanied by music from a live orchestra of classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments.
“I think just the dancing is amazing,” an overawed Roland Eschbach said of the New York-based company.
The ballroom dancer admitted that if he ever tried to emulate some of the difficult positions performed by the dancers, he would “be in a hot traction for a week.”
“I think the dancing was incredible, the costumes were incredible, the choreography was great—everything was really wonderful.”
Classical Chinese dance which was passed down over thousands of years through the different dynasties, operas and theater, demands a high level of professionalism and training, the company’s website says. “It’s foundation is based on form, bearing and difficult techniques which include complicated leaps and tumbles.”
Carol Eschbach was also impressed with the culture that she had just witnessed for the first time in the United States.
“I like that they’re trying to bring back the culture ... and the spiritual side [as well],” she said.
Classical Chinese dance is at the heart of every Shen Yun performance and is a system of dance that is nearly as old as China’s civilization itself, the company says.
“I just loved it, it was beautiful,” she emphasized.
Ms. Eschback also recounted how “emotional” she felt when she learned that a modern day spiritual practice that is the theme of a couple of Shen Yun dances, has been banned in China.
Falun Dafa, an ancient Chinese meditation practice whose fundamental teachings are based on truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, has been persecuted in China since July 1999 through to today.
“It helps us realize how lucky we are in this country too—being able to do just about anything we want,” said Roland Eschback.
“And it [Falun Dafa] is very peaceful,” added Ms. Eschback who once again said how much she had been touched by the dance.
Reporting by Valerie Avore and Diane Cordemans.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. The International Company, one of Shen Yun’s three equally large companies, will next perform in Kansas Tuesday, Jan. 31.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
