MINNEAPOLIS—Dance can be called the language of the soul, and classical Chinese dance is a dance form with one of the longest histories.
“Very graceful, without feeling forced,“ complimented Bao Lee, the owner of a dance studio. ”The divine part of it is how graceful every single movement is. So you see the outstretched arms, the way that they bend their bodies. Even the way that they land on the stage. It’s very quiet.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts uses classical Chinese dance to depict beautiful stories from Chinese history and mythology.
“I can tell it’s a lot of hours of repetition and thought in terms of themes and choreography. And you really have to stretch a lot and take care of your body to be able to do that,” said Jake Riley, a professional break dancer.
Classical Chinese dance places importance in its bearing, form and technique. The dancers appear to float across the stage but that alone takes a lot of effort to make it look effortless.
“I think that with the elegance comes in practice. You have to practice being elegant. It doesn’t come naturally,” said Mr. Riley.
Every part of New York-based Shen Yun was created specifically for the performance. From the choreography to the backdrop to the handmade costumes, everything was made with care and precision.
“I was telling him while we were watching that whoever made the costumes did it beautifully. All of the women looked like they’re wearing dresses, but they’re actually pants. And it gives them ample amount of movement as dancers to move their legs up without it looking like a separate piece. So I really like that,” commented Ms. Lee.
One of the dances used long sleeves to extend their arms and imitate water. Ms Lee expressed her appreciation for Shen Yun’s beauty and dedication.
“I think that the water piece is also really nice. The green outfits, how they were able to extend the arm and then catch that cloth when it came back down. Immediately my thought was, that is so hard to do. And if any one of them as dancers were to not catch that cloth when it came down, it would look like such an eyesore across the board. So you could really tell that they practiced that.”
Reporting by Stacey Tang and Maria Han
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
