SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun is Exquisite, Says Dance School Owner

Jan 13, 2019
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Shen Yun is Exquisite, Says Dance School Owner
Vanessa Spencer, owner and principal of Wigston School of Dance, enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham on Jan. 13, 2019. (NTD Television)

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom—As Vanessa Spencer watched Shen Yun Performing Arts, she sensed an inner-meaning and depth from the dancers’ movements.

“All their movements and their discipline came from within. It wasn’t something that was glossy and surfacey at all,” she said.

Spencer, an owner and principal of a dance school, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the ICC Birmingham on Jan. 13.

She said the performance gave her “a sense of goodness and hope.”

“They must have worked so many hours for all the nuance of skill they have,” she said.

Through classical Chinese dance and a live orchestra that blends music from the East and West, Shen Yun is reviving authentic Chinese culture, which has almost been lost in modern times.

Shen Yun performers are reviving this tradition and draw inspiration from the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa, according to the show’s programme book.

“They meditate together, study teachings together and strive to live by truth, compassion, and tolerance,” it says.

Spencer was impressed by the way the dancers portrayed themselves on the stage, and felt each of their movements came from within.

“Their attention to detail and every nuance of movement, their eyes, their hold of their head—every tiny aspect of their fingers and arm-lines—it really all comes from within. It’s just wonderful,” she said.

She loved the long sleeves worn by the dancers.

“The costume extends all the arm-lines, everything that they do, so that movement that comes right from the centre of them just extends and extends from there. It creates such beautiful patterns and vibrancy of colour,” she said.

She added that the “different minutiae of costumes and colour” were outstanding.

And it wasn’t just the dancing that moved her. Spencer was particularly touched by the singing and the lyrics of the piece, “The Way That Saves.”

Shen Yun singers are trained in the traditional bel canto method. When they sing, they are still able to maintain Chinese diction.

According to Shen Yun’s website, the songs are “brimming with deep reflection about life” and “transcend the boundaries of nation, race, and culture.”

“I thought the content of it was very touching,” Spencer said. “The meaning of the words touches you, particularly in everyday society now.”

She described the performance overall as being soothing, uplifting, and inspiring.

“Hopefully I should be able to take something back to my little dancers,” she said.

With reporting by NTD Television and Jane Gray.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the company’s inception in 2006.
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