CANBERRA, Australia—For many, the experience of watching Shen Yun’s Performing Arts 2009 World Tour is hard to express in words. But for Ms. Brien, a counsellor and dance enthusiast, there weren’t enough words to express how much it moved her.
“Tonight was exceptional. It was beyond my expectations!
“It spoke to the individual, of what they want to say through dance. It was spiritual, it was meaningful. … You could lose yourself in every step they did. … And the colours, the meaning of the whole thing. It was like opening up a book, when you see dance like that, you forget where you are. You forget all your troubles, you forget who you are, and you’re reminded of other cultures around the world, and how they can be transformed into speaking our language through the steps of dancing. And when they speak different languages, they’re all speaking the same language—all in one, through the heart and through the spirit. … I can take this home, and if I die tomorrow, I had a wonderful night, I can take something with me. It’s just beautiful, really beautiful.”
Ms. Brien’s favourite dance was Mulan Joins the Battle, which she felt expressed so much about the Chinese. “The ultimate sacrifice is your life and, through dance, she showed that. And people have given their lives, and the Chinese not only feel that, know that, they are readily able and willing to give their lives for another, and what they did through dance, it’s sharing that … the spiritualness of it, the love they have for each other.”
Ms. Brien explained how the Chinese beliefs and what was passed down from their ancestors really came through in the dance. “The divine dance was not only given to us tonight, but the spirituality from it, from the ancestors, was also shared with the people tonight in Australia—I grasped it with open hands and heart from the Chinese, I’m truly grateful for what they’ve given us tonight.”
Asked if she would recommend the show to her friends, Ms. Brien replied, “Oh, absolutely! I would like to say to them: ‘If you ever want to see something that is meaningful, in-depth, spiritual, and something from the old world given to the new, then you must go and see this! Exceptional colours, everything was beautiful, It’s beyond the word ‘beautiful.' It was from God, it was from the past, given to the future, and that’s what I would tell them. … Open your heart, let it come out like a flower, let it grow in your heart, let the Chinese teach us and show us what they have received from the past and from their ancestors, and let them show us more, and go and learn all about it, and see it, and be touched by the love.”
Although Ms. Brien had seen Chinese dance before on television, this was the first time she had seen it so close, and experienced what the dancing meant for the dancers, as well as the audience. “When I saw the Chinese dancing tonight, the girls and the guys, they not only danced with what they were taught and what they know, they danced with their heart, with their spirits—the expression on their faces was phenomenal. They felt it, they spoke it without saying anything, they spoke every step through motion, through their eyes, through their expression. Everything tonight was from their being, their whole being, everything was just phenomenal, giving their all. And they did it out of their heart, you can see they love everything they do. It wasn’t just a show, tonight wasn’t just a performance, it was part of their life, it was part of them, given to us.”
Ms. Brien’s last words were for the dancers: “I’d like to say thank you to the people, and thank you for the experience of knowing what people think and feel in their heart. Thank you for everything they’ve shown us and given us tonight, and thank you for coming to Australia and doing it for us, being there, and just, thank you, thank you for everything!”
NTDTV contributed to this report.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Friends Read Free