SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun, ‘It’s Feeding Right Into My Heart,’ Says Retired Lieutenant Colonel

Feb 28, 2022
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Shen Yun, ‘It’s Feeding Right Into My Heart,’ Says Retired Lieutenant Colonel
Retired Lt. Col. Kurt Miller at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Tucson Music Hall in Arizona on Feb. 27, 2022. (Jane Yang/The Epoch Times)
TUCSON, Ariz.—The phrase “practice makes perfect” is famous in sports and the arts. Yet in the arts, practicing techniques is not the only thing that is going to make an artist stand out. The dancers of Shen Yun Performing Arts are recognized not for just their outstanding athleticism, but also for their excellent moral presentation.

“I think they don’t just need the physical training, there has to be a spiritual training too that comes forth. It’s like a radiance, it’s like a light. So fluid and so beautiful, it can’t just come from practice. There has to be spiritual practice too,” said Kurt Miller, a retired lieutenant colonel.

When the artists of New York-based Shen Yun are portraying a character, they not only do the movements of the choreography,  they also study the character as a whole and try to emulate him or her on stage. So when a dancer is portraying a divine being or a great emperor, the compassion or the grandeur of the character is also being portrayed.

“I’m crying all the time because my heart is so full. It’s so beautiful. It’s like it’s feeding right into my heart,” said Mr. Miller.

Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving 5000 years of Chinese culture and civilization—exactly what the communist party tried to destroy when it came into power.

“My heart breaks for traditional Chinese culture that is being crushed by the communist party. I’m hopeful that this will be the start of a renewal of Chinese traditional culture because it’s so beautiful. So it’s a blessing for me and my wife to be here,” expressed Mr. Miller.

The tickets to Shen Yun were a Christmas gift from Mr. Miller to his wife.
The performance is interlaced with spiritual aspects that China was filled with before communism. The two major belief systems in China were Buddhism and Daoism.

“It’s like a foundational thing that all of Chinese culture flows from. [Their] belief in the divine, because the divine is where we came from and where we’re going to—it’s the river. So if you don’t have the river, you’re not going anywhere. You get the ugliness of culture, western culture now. There’s no life to it, there’s no hope,” said Mr. Miller.

With the portrayal of divinity, many spectators are reminded that the belief in a higher power is often a source of hope and light in a dark tunnel.

“I’m hoping that people will be filled with joy like me, and they’ll start thinking, where did this come from? Why don’t I have any joy in my life? How do I get some joy? Perhaps they’ll look to whatever religious belief they like to plug into the divine. Because that’s the source of joy. There’s no joy without heaven,” Mr. Miller said.

He praised the artists of Shen Yun for putting together a wonderful performance.
“The music, the dancing, the colors. It was just a fantastic pageantry. We just loved it,” he said. “I love the orchestra, so professional. It wouldn’t be any better, so I’m glad I brought my handkerchief with me, because I’ve been crying. It’s just so beautiful.”
Reporting by Jane Yang 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.
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