JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.—Dance can be extremely demanding on the body. Florence Ray, who used to dance ballet, was impressed with the way the artists of Shen Yun Performing Arts were able to use their bodies.
“They use their body in a very beautiful way. It’s something that’s magical to me,” said Mrs. Ray, who is now the owner of a beauty company.
“Their skill level is exceptional. ... The thing that made it captivating to me the most was that they made it seem so effortless. Though I know that it’s absolutely difficult and impossible for most people to perform,” shared Mrs. Ray.
Mrs. Ray was at the performance with her husband, Chad Ray, global director for Stanley Black & Decker. Mr. Ray shared that he “loved all of the talent and the history and the stories that were being told. It was really good.”
“It was very unique. I’ve never seen a show quite like this. So it was very good,” said Mr. Ray.
Classical Chinese dance and ballet are both beautiful and elegant systems of dance. While there are some similarities between the two dance systems, there are even more differences.
“Their moves are quite different from ballet in many respects. So it was just very interesting watching how graceful they were, how they made every movement so effortless, how incredibly flexible they were and strong, very strong,” said Mrs. Ray.
“One of the things that was specific to me was how well the male dancers were. Because in ballet, you often see male dancers as supporting the female. But in this, I felt like the men were just the stars of the show many times so that was beautiful to me,” said Mrs. Ray.
During the performance, the Masters of Ceremony shared that Shen Yun means the beauty of divine beings dancing.
“I think it’s an apt name. It’s an appropriate name for the way that they danced. It was absolutely beautiful,” shared Mrs. Ray.
“I would come and watch it again,” Mr. Ray added.
“Well, some of the surprises were the way that they used different pieces and elements of costume to make it so beautiful. The flowing dresses, the way that they made flowers come from fans, and all of those types of things were very interesting to me,” said Mrs. Ray.
“We need to do our part in the world and I think that came through a lot in the show and as far as China and communism I think that it’s something that we need to be aware of,” said Mrs. Ray.
Shen Yun has one more performance in Johnson City on Feb. 7.
