NAGOYA, Japan—A Chinese student who studied classical Chinese dance had the opportunity to attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Aichi Prefectural Art Theater in Nagoya on Jan. 28.
“Their skills and techniques are magnificent. They are awesome!” said Ms. Meng after the performance. “I started to learn classical Chinese dance at 3 years old. Many of my friends are professional dancers. To be honest, nobody can reach Shen Yun’s level without 20 years of hard training.”
“They are telling stories by using their whole bodies. It’s very impressive,” she said.
‘A Must-See Performance’
“Shen Yun is a cultural treasure. It’s shining like a diamond and lighting the world,” said Ms. Li Li (pseudonym), a Chinese in Japan. She attended Shen Yun with her brother Mr. Li Cheng (pseudonym).Ms. Li said she felt very proud of Shen Yun, which presents a real China in front of the world.
“The stories are from China’s history. The colors are very Chinese. And the costumes are Chinese, from different dynasties,” she said. “Every scene on stage is very beautiful, no matter from which angle.”
“The dancers split in the air. Its beauty is far beyond people’s imagination. These movements are beyond the human body’s limits,” she said. “Even the male dancers’ flexibility has reached the pinnacle, which I couldn’t imagine.”
“Shen Yun told the historical stories in an interesting sometimes even very humorous way. I felt like I witnessed the history in person. It made me deeply feel the charm of the traditional Chinese culture,” he said. “Shen Yun explains the Chinese culture very accurately through the costumes and dancers’ movements. These stories strongly resonate with our hearts.”
Mr. Li said he recommends everybody attend Shen Yun.
For 5,000 years China’s civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, virtues like loyalty, propriety, wisdom, justice, and benevolence—values that are universal and shared the world over.
‘Shen Yun Gives Us Hope’
A Chinese couple said Shen Yun brought hope and happiness to them.“I felt hope from Shen Yun. This artistic spectacular gave me hope,” the wife said. The husband took over the conversation: “I felt a big joy. I believe now that we human beings can overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The couple has family in China, where people are suffering greatly under COVID and pandemic measures now. They felt sad because of the pandemic over the past three years as well as the new outbreak in China.
“The virtuoso’s skill is very good. I was very touched,” she said. “Everything of Shen Yun is great. The dancers are excellent. They are very professional. The animated backdrop is magical, dancers can jump into the backdrop. I have never seen this kind of technique.”
“Chinese culture is nice. But people in China have lost more and more of it. In the contrary, the overseas Chinese inherited this culture,” the wife said.
“I hope I can attend Shen Yun every year in the future,” the husband said.
Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.
