GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.— Lucas Fischhaber, a nuclear engineer and fantasy author, and paralegal Shauna Fischhaber attended a Shen Yun Performing Arts concert and said the performance touched their hearts and gave them hope and inspiration to brave our divisive times.
“This is a culture that needs to be remembered, that needs to be shared with everyone,” Mrs. Fischhaber said. The couple saw the performance at the DeVos Performance Hall on May 27, 2022.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world premiere classical Chinese Dance company. Based out of New York, the company’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Along with folk dances and solo musical performances, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting cherished tales with exalted heroes who embody the virtues of ancient Chinese civilization still relevant to us today.
“It’s beautiful. There’s a depth there that is indescribable, and yet through the movement, the music, and the passion of the dancers, it’s shared and it’s visible.”
“I cried,” said Mrs. Fischhaber, “It was something about the movements of the dance that just touched my heart.”
“There is a serenity that is wrapped in a quiet strength, and yet there’s a playfulness there that’s shared and expressed. I feel like there’s a self-assuredness that comes from knowing who you are, and I feel like that’s very well expressed in the show,” she added.
China was once known as “The Land of the Divine.” In the past artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yun follows this noble tradition and presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdom’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies.
“With the dance of the water sleeves, there’s just something about it that reminds me of that quietness—the beauty and grace of that moment. And I really appreciate that.”
Mr. Fischhaber is the author of a fantasy novel titled “A Gathering Storm.” He said that Shen Yun has given him inspiration for a second book he is writing for his Age of Wonder series.
“When I experience something like this, it definitely does give me material for writing and inspiration,” he said.
“I think one of the things that really impacted me was the flower—the plum flower. There’s strength but yet fragileness … even though it’s fragile it doesn’t mean it’s not strong—it has courage—courage and inherent strength,” he said.“Especially for us, when you get into that storm of life, ... even though you may be perceived as weak or fragile, that thing that’s hidden, that lives inside … is the thing that makes [us] strong.”
“I certainly hope that would remind anybody of the inherent promise from a Creator that we have. There’s a hope there—where instead of being divisive, we can come together.”
