DENVER—On April 9, Shen Yun Performing Arts opened its second of five consecutive performances at the Buell Theatre. Attending the show for the first time, actor Glen Williamson thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
“I’m really enjoying it. Their movement is really impressive, I don’t think Western dancers are trained that well,” he said during intermission.
The dancers’ “movement vocabulary is astounding, they’re so versatile. It’s really impressive to watch their movement. It’s just unsurpassed—I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun artists are highly trained in classical Chinese dance—an art form with a history spanning thousands of years, celebrated for its athleticism and expressive power. What many may not realize is that numerous tumbling techniques often associated with gymnastics and acrobatics actually originate from classical Chinese dance.
According to the company’s website, the classical Chinese dance seen in China today is heavily mixed with military and modern styles. Only at Shen Yun can the audience experience it in its purest form, preserved as it was passed down through generations.
A performer himself, Williamson was inspired by the dancers’ ability to convey stories so clearly through movement and music alone, without dialogue.
“All of their movements, the acrobatics, the things that are like mime, the characters, the story—it’s all together,” he said. “The ensemble works, it’s just beautiful.”
Before the communists’ spread of atheism, Chinese people were very spiritual and had a deep belief in the divine. For thousands of years, their values and day-to-day actions were strictly governed by the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
In the decades since the communist regime seized power, Chinese culture was forced to the brink of extinction. Shen Yun artists are now seeking to revive the nation’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture and showcase to the world the beauty of China before communism.
However, due to the company’s dedication to raising awareness for ongoing human rights issues in present-day China, Shen Yun is banned from performing there.
“I’m very sympathetic to their whole movement and trying to save Chinese culture,” he stated. “The fact that they’re standing up against communism is heroic.”
Reflecting on the performance’s cultural themes and its portrayal of traditional spirituality, Mr. Williamson expressed his support and was happy to find many parallels with his own beliefs.
The story about “human beings coming from the [divine] and the tenor solo about salvation from the Creator—sounds essentially Christian to me. I’m very comfortable taking it that way and in the context of very ancient Chinese wisdom,” he shared.
“I’m so impressed by the movement of the dancers, and I think part of it is that I can see they have deep spiritual inner work and devotion. It shows in the purity of their movement, and that’s very inspiring.”
