CINCINNATI—Steve Ortmayer, assistant and special teams football coach for the University of Kentucky Wildcats was impressed with the athletic abilities of the dancers of the Shen Yun Performing Art show at the Aronoff Center for the Arts, on Jan. 30.
The Shen Yun dancers are “very very good athletes, particularly the men,” said Mr. Ortmayer, a previous college football player and general manager of the San Diego Chargers and St. Louis Rams.
“The woman are exceptional too and very beautifully choreographed. But, the men are very athletic and very good.”
The heart of Shen Yun is classical Chinese dance which is a distinct and independent dance form. “It is known for its incredible flips and spins, and its gentle elegance. It is one of the most rigorous and expressive art forms in the world,” according to the company website.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revitalize 5,000 years of ancient civilization and its virtues through dance and music—a culture almost completely lost due to 60 plus years of communist rule.
“Shen Yun enjoys the artistic freedom of New York, enabling it to now bring these ancient traditions to the stage,” according to the Shen Yun website.
“We were fortunate enough to go to China for three weeks this year. We saw Chinese acrobats and Chinese dancing but it was not like this,” Mr. Ortmayer said. “This is very refined and very beautiful.”
Shen Yun presents about 20 mini-dramas expressed through dance.
“It is very good!” he said. It tells “a very colorful story and follows a very continuous thread of how things were done in Chinese history.”
Mr. Ortmayer said he would tell his friends that “if they appreciate ballet, if they appreciate the art of dancing, and if they appreciate story telling—come!”
Reporting by Joan Wang and Cat Rooney
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
