MINNEAPOLIS---Inspiration struck Rose Ellen and renewed her purpose.
After seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts, the guitarist and singer-songwriter felt assured that she’s on the right path with her career and that she’s “not going to get lost or waste time anymore.”
The performance of classical Chinese dance and music clarified for her that there is a path for people and we do have a purpose, and, moreover, that our purpose includes doing good in the world.
“I just feel like I’m so much in touch with my purpose that I’m like really excited to keep working on my music,” she said. She had studied journalism in college but switched to music for the love of it.
Ms. Ellen’s mother, Mary Rose, a nurse and her daughter’s biggest fan, summarized that feeling by saying “Live in the moment and make the best of everything.”
The pair saw the performance at the Orpheum Theatre on Feb. 21, and both felt deeply touched by Shen Yun. The company aims to restore the traditional arts and the underlying spirituality of a Chinese heritage nearly forgotten.
They grappled back and forth with how to get their ideas across:
Mrs. Rose: “It’s hard to explain.”
Ms. Ellen: “It just hit me, you know?”
Mrs. Rose: “Language is so limited.”
Ms. Ellen: “Yeah, I’m trying to think of words to explain.”
Ms. Ellen was most touched, even to the point of tears, by the erhu player. “That instrument with the two strings, that made me ... like five seconds into it, I got emotional. it just hit me. It was so beautiful. I’m so inspired, I want to learn more about that instrument now,” she said.
“Yeah, oh yeah,” Mrs. Rose said. “That young lady who did the instrument, the two-stringed instrument, that was, ohh ... the sounds from that were just ...”
“Beautiful,” her daughter completed her thought.
Mrs. Rose, who also paints, was fascinated by the colors of the costumes and backdrop. “I just loved the colors together. They just flow together. It was like watching a painting in motion.”
When the pair talked about what the performance might do for people on a spiritual level, Ms. Ellen thought it might help someone “want to be a better person, or find a purpose in life. I believe in that. I believe we all have a purpose in life.”
She explained that seeing that there is a force higher than we are would be inspiring. People could recognize that they do have a place in the scheme of things and that they don’t have to take material things so seriously because those pursuits are only temporary.
“And so that helps to put life in perspective,” she said.
“It did. It really had depth to it. It had depth,” her mother said. “The feeling of goodness. That we’re all connected, you know.”
“I felt that it was very in tune with what I feel, too, from my heart,” Mrs. Rose continued. “Yes, we were here for a purpose. We’re here to let the Creator shine through us, to create, and this was an amazing creation. I mean, all these artists here, I mean, wow.”
Ms. Ellen felt excited: “I feel really inspired creatively, and also spiritually, too, I just feel good. It’s almost comforting, I guess, in a way.”
“I want to go dance!” Ms. Ellen said.
Reporting by Nancy Ma and Sharon Kilarski
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.
