CLAREMONT, Calif.—Having recovered from a near-fatal car crash that resulted in total memory loss, Celeste Palmer was inspired to do her own research and ultimately founded Bridge the Gap, an organization providing resources and support for brain injury survivors and their loved ones.
Her network is all about finding inspiration in life and recovery, and she found exactly that in Shen Yun Performing Arts.
“I think that’s what the arts are for, that it takes our human spirit and lets it fly,” she said of her experience at the Bridges Auditorium on April 5.
From Shen Yun, she felt “there are no limitations, except the ones we put on ourselves.”
“It shows the ability for the human spirit to express---it’s a spiritual thing,” she said. “Their bodies are going beyond what is normal ... so it’s like they’re dancing and they are flying, and they are doing so many different things, it’s just beautiful.”
Shen Yun, the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, roughly translates into “the beauty of divine being dancing,” and Palmer certainly felt that.
She found the performance incredibly spiritual, taking you beyond the physical and beyond what the limitations of the body are on a regular basis.
“It’s inspirational to be here and watch this kind of activity,” she said. “The experience will lift you out of whatever is going on, that is what they do. What’s going on in that stage, in there, is absolutely fantastic.”
Palmer had great admiration for the artistry of the production and the vast group of talent that must have been needed to put every piece of it together. From the costumes that were unlike anything she'd ever seen before to the digital backdrop that opened up a new dimension to the beautiful music created by those in the orchestra pit, they inspired Palmer.
“They are taking it beyond the physical presence of the stage,” she said.
As an example, Palmer described one particular dance vignette to beautiful effect.
“There was this special water part of it, where the costumes were almost like, when they were spinning, the women looked like they were morning glories,” she said. “It rippled, like water, the colors of the water, and that means so much to me because that is the part of the cleansing.”
“A lot of us like being near the ocean or rivers and ponds ... because it’s a cleansing idea of renewing,” she said. “It’s always like looking for something that brings you outside of yourself.”
“It’s pretty amazing to have it come together and be so beautiful,” Palmer said.
