SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Beauty of Shen Yun’s Dancers’ Moves Is Preserving Their Bodies, Says Physical Therapist

May 19, 2022
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Beauty of Shen Yun’s Dancers’ Moves Is Preserving Their Bodies, Says Physical Therapist
James Donatelli and Bon Hall at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts–Dreyfoos Hall, on May 17, 2022. (Kailiang Jia/The Epoch Times)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Dancers are constantly on their feet and using movement to convey a story. Quite often, this kind of movement is taxing on the body and can lead to long-term damage. However, for the dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts, James Donatelli, a physical therapist, could tell that their movements were actually preserving their bodies.

“It’s just incredible. It’s beautiful. The way the dancers work the floor is natural and effortless. The use of choreography and the color and the arms and the flowing is just beautiful. It’s amazing,” Mr. Donatelli said.

Shen Yun is based in New York and its artists are trained in classical Chinese dance. Although some movements resemble ballet, these movements actually originate from classical Chinese dance.
“I’m a physical therapist. I learned from dancers from actually looking at their footwork. Compared to ballet, ballet dancers hurt their bodies. These dancers are actually preserving their bodies by moving efficiently and effortlessly, most beautifully,” said Mr. Donatelli.

‘Message Transcends All Cultures’

Shen Yun’s dancers are trained at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College in New York. Although the dancers are mostly ethnically Chinese, they are actually artists from around the world who have a common goal of reviving China’s 5,000 years of civilization.

“The dancers are from all over the world. I looked through the [program book], and they’re from everywhere, from China, from New York, even someone I think from Japan in there. They’re all over. Amazing,” said Bon Hall, who was in attendance with Mr. Donatelli.

Shen Yun strives to present China as it was before communism and due to this conflict of interest, Shen Yun is banned from performing in China.

“I was surprised that these dancers are not trained in China and that they’re trained in New York. I was very surprised about that. Because this is a beautiful art form, and I’m really surprised that it would be suppressed,” added Mr. Donatelli.

Although Shen Yun is a performance about Chinese culture, many audience members feel that the performance transcends culture and nationality.

“This is multicultural, even though it’s a China story. I think this is multicultural because it is about beauty and dance, and regardless of what a person’s ethnicity is, I think that this message just transcends all cultures,” said Mr. Donatelli.

The patented digital backdrop in the performance is unique to Shen Yun and it allows the dancers to be transported to different worlds and different times.

“The backdrop, it’s interesting. Again, there’s wonderful creativity, as part of this, using the stage but also the electronics to enhance the viewers’ experience,” said Mr. Donatelli.

“The way they sort of appear, and then immediately jump, and then immediately appear on stage from the earth,” Ms. Hall described.

“It makes you believable, pulls you into the story,” Mr. Donatelli added.

Inspiration for Shen Yun’s costumes is drawn from the attire worn in the heavens as well as the attire from each dynasty of China. Along with the dance and music, the costumes are also handcrafted for each new production every year.

“I think the costumes are spectacular. I love the way that they flow. And every time they move, it’s not just the dance, it’s the costume [that] sort of carries on the movement. And I love that. I think it’s beautiful,” said Ms. Hall.

Reporting by Kailiang Jia 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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