Inner Beauty of Shen Yun’s Dancers ‘On Each One of Their Faces’

DETROIT—The Pfeiffers traveled 120 miles to attend Shen Yun Performing Arts’ matinee at the Detroit Opera House on Jan.27. The couple has made the journey to see the show annually.

Mrs. Pfeiffer, a retired doctor, told The Epoch Times that the show’s beauty keeps drawing them back: “The beauty, the beauty of the… overall performance. I think there is integrity to it; there is a beautiful dream, 5,000-year-old dream. Hopefully it comes true,” she said.

“We really love it. We have come many times before. We will come again. Yes, we were here last year. We enjoy it very much,” said Raymond Pfeiffer, who taught philosophy at Delta College in Bay City, Michigan before he retired. 

“It’s divine. It’s perfect, in its costumes, in its dance, and the spirit. The dancers, radiate so much happiness and conviction and it’s very, very nice to be part of it,” Mrs. Pfeiffer said. 

Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of China’s traditional performing arts and restore its divinely inspired civilization, according to the company’s website.

“It’s a treat to see some real traditional Chinese culture because, ... in my lifetime, ...u p until Shen Yun, I didn’t see it, so it’s a treat. I love it. Wonderful,” Mr. Pfeiffer said. 

Mr. Pfeiffer used a strong list of adjectives to describe it: “I’m fascinated, it’s enriching, it’s wonderful, it’s enlivening, and delightful, beautiful, what else can I say.”

In mentioning what impressed her most, Mrs. Pfeiffer listed most of Shen Yun’s unique facets: “The dancing, the orchestral presence (it’s not just videotaped), and the projections (the landscapes and the coordination), the spirit, a lot of good spirit,” she said.

The spirit that Mrs. Pfeiffer mentions is actually an elemental feature of classical Chinese dance, at the core of Shen Yun. The dancing has “bearing” as one of three aspects that the dancers train in. Bearing requires expressing the inner essence of each character portrayed.

“It’s graceful, it’s elegant. Inner and external beauty,” she said.

Both Pfeiffers sensed this inner beauty, “on each one of their faces,” she said; “definitely,” Mr. Pfeiffer said.

Reporting by Dong Yu Teng and Sharon Kilarski.

Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

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