UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill.—Sharon Talcott, a model and the vice-president of Oceans Biomedical, attended Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Center for Performing Arts at Governors State University with her sister Hannah and mother Kimberly on April 30.
“The way they can move their bodies—the balance, the flexibility, and the self-discipline it took to do that on stage—I see the craft because in modeling I have to stand in a pose for hours and it takes so much mental and emotional discipline and self-control to do that. It’s not a talent many people can relate to. I’m so impressed.”The mission of New York-based Shen Yun is to bring back China’s lost culture and its belief in the divine through beautiful art.
Since its advent in 2006, the performing arts company has grown to become a global sensation, with eight equally sized companies set to perform in over 180 cities worldwide.
This was the family’s second time attending Shen Yun.
Mrs. Talcott fell in love with the dance company after watching the show years ago and would always show Hannah video clips of “The Three Musketeers,” a YouTube channel run by Shen Yun dancers, whenever she returned home for a visit.
“My mother is a huge fan. She watches the YouTube channel every day, so I bought her tickets to come to [Shen Yun.] I didn’t even remember it being so good—this is just a wonderful experience,” said Hannah.
“If you hear someone whooping and hollering in the crowd—that was me,” she added enthusiastically.
“I do believe that culture, in general, is getting further and further from the divine. I don’t think you can get closer to God than what [Shen Yun] was doing on stage,” she expressed.
“It was something that when you see it, you get goosebumps. You feel very spiritually moved because I think the divine beauty—the dance—all go hand in hand.”
Prior to the communist takeover in 1949 and the regime’s spread of atheism, Chinese people had a deep belief in the divine.
In fact, the whole foundation of China’s civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
In Shen Yun’s portrayal of pre-communist China, Hannah saw “a China that was free, creative, expressive, beautiful, colorful, and humane.”
Shen Yun artists “are very brave dedicating their lives to reviving their culture and shining a light on the [human rights issues in China,]” Sharon added.
“They’re reaching people and touching a lot of people through this. It is an art and a mission.”
