SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Classical Chinese dance and ballet are both elegant dance forms that originated in different nations. Sometimes it is difficult for dancers themselves to know the difference between the two. Luckily, Shen Yun Performing Arts is using pure classical Chinese
dance to perform on stages across the globe to allow more people to know and fall in love with this ancient dance form.
“I thought it was fantastic. I was a ballet dancer professionally, previously. And so seeing it made me want to dance again. We want to continue to do that. So it was wonderful. It was great,” said Clay Nightingale after seeing a performance at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio on Feb. 3.
Shen Yun is from New York, and using beautiful dance and music, Shen Yun is reviving 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—a
China before communism.
“I love traditional dance from China,” he added.
Classical Chinese dance allows the artist to convey any emotion through movements of the body. Whether it be the compassion of the divine or the pain of a mother who has parted with her child, classical Chinese dance has no limit in expression.
“The music was beautiful. The dancing was absolutely amazing. The choreography was great. The stage, the presence, the costumes, were all really fantastic,” said Mr. Nightingale.
Each of
Shen Yun’s eight companies has its own orchestra. The orchestra is a classical Western ensemble while featuring traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa and erhu as permanent members. The
erhu is considered one of the most important instruments in China.
“I love the music. I love the artists who played the two-stringed instrument (erhu). It is so beautiful. [It] makes me think of a cello or viola for being the sound of a voice. To me, that sounds like a voice from China—the closest to the human voice. When I hear it, it makes me think of China,” said Mr. Nightingale.
As a former ballet dancer, Mr. Nightingale is familiar with the set design involved to put on a performance. He was struck by Shen Yun’s use of its patented digital
backdrop.
“The backdrop is amazing. I’m so used to theater and seeing a bunch of different pieces that are put together. And I know that [Shen Yun] travels a lot. So that kind of helps with not having to set up those things and doing that. You had so many different
costume changes. The animation was amazing. It was really really cool to see,” said Mr. Nightingale.
Reporting by Sonia Wu and Maria Han.
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