MELBOURNE, Australia—Watching dozens of dancers onstage, all ablaze in gorgeous costumes, felt “medicinal” for the souls of one Melbourne couple who watched Shen Yun Performing Arts portray ancient Chinese myths on Friday.
“Do good, stay away from evil, and be kind” was what Samaranayake, a Melbourne businessman, took away from Shen Yun’s morally-inspired tales, which portray things like bandits being reformed into Buddhists as well as the blind being cured by divine beings for having faith.
“What goes around comes around,” added Dissanayake, who works in real estate, and who mentioned that she and her husband are both Buddhist. “So if you do good things to people, good things will happen to you. We believe in karma, and that was emphasized in the show as well.”
They chose dance to spread their message.
“They really help us to, or remind us, what’s important in life. And a big thank you to them,” said Samaranayake. “I think it was sort of medicinal as well because we live very busy lives. And to sit there and watch that, it felt like therapy. So thank you to all of them.”
Now in its 20th year, Shen Yun has launched on a mission to revive a culture that was “almost lost” during China’s devastating Cultural Revolution in the mid-1960s, which saw 5,000 years of ancient traditions being burned and suppressed. But the freshness with which Shen Yun features these very ancient traditions makes them feel relatable today.
The company is truly becoming the connective tissue with China’s past.
“I think it’s very important to hold on to your culture and where you’re from and teach future generations,” said Kristy Belleville, a marketing communications manager who watched the same performance Friday. “It made me feel happy.”
Belleville, who watched Shen Yun today with her daughter, said she felt it was educational as well as beautiful. She shared what she learned about classical Chinese dance: it has been around for “thousands and thousands of years,” she said, and “other cultures have taken that style of performance into their cultures.”
“It all came from this culture,” Belleville said.
