BOISE, Idaho—“What impressed me most was the way the story was told with such hope and with such divine love,” said retired real estate developer, Ilene Leasure, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts’ premier performance at Boise’s Morrison Center, January 19.
“It was so fabulous I cried.”
Shen Yun travels the globe each year, using music and dance to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture—a culture that was once nearly lost. Each performance takes its audience members on a journey through ancient China, leaving them uplifted and fulfilled.
Ms. Leasure was especially struck by how, although Shen Yun features one-of-a-kind dance and music pieces, “it was so full of spirit. It wasn’t just about the dance, it wasn’t just about the music—it was about spirit.”
“It was almost supernatural,” she added. “It was divine. It was a divine experience.”
In attendance alongside Ms. Leasure was Kit Furey, a life coach specializing in the unconscious mind. Ms. Furey was sensitive to the subtle inner expressions of the dancers.
“The artistic expression, the movement of the dancers—it was easy to see what they were trying to express in the movement of their bodies,“ said Ms. Furey. ”The beauty of the movement was like the soul expression.”
Shen Yun features classical Chinese dance, one of the most difficult and comprehensive dance systems in the world. Known specifically for its challenging flips and spins, classical Chinese dance also embodies deep messages that can be expressed through a dancer’s every move.
These moves then give way to a “dramatic portrayal to the cherished stories of past and present,” according to Shen Yun’s website. That is, stories that embody the link between humans, nature, and art.
“I don’t think they’re thinking; I think they are feeling. I think they are expressing the deeper parts of themselves,” said Ms. Furey. “When someone is thinking about movement, it doesn’t have the depth that expression from the heart has, and those dancers to me were expressing through the heart.”
She linked this perfected art form with Shen Yun’s mission: “They’re preserving the culture that’s being suppressed in China, and they’re expressing it out in the world through these dancers. I think it’s very important.”
Ms. Leasure described how she was touched by the subtleties of the performance: “It opens your heart to—if I may say—God. However you interpret that. It opens your heart to that experience.”
“I think it’s incredibly important,” she concluded. “I think everyone should see it. Everyone should see it.”
Reporting by Alex Ma and Michael Fitzgerald
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
