‘Funny, Emotional, Powerful,’ ‘Every Type of Emotion You Could Possibly Bring Out,’ Says Martial Artist About Shen Yun
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Martial arts instructor Hoon Park with his wife, Liliane Lan, at the Mahaffey Theater–Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, in St. Petersburg, on March 31, 2023. NTD
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Hoon Park, a martial arts school owner in Tampa and Clearwater, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time with his wife Liliane Lan at the Mahaffey Theater–Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31.
“It was amazing … very beautiful performances all the way through,” said Mr. Park.
Mr. Park had never seen classical Chinese dance and was astonished by the incorporation of martial arts in the dance form.
“The classical Chinese dance was beautiful … the flips, the aerial movement together with the martial arts and the dance … it was amazing,” he said. “It wasn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before!”
Classical Chinese dance was originally passed down among people and through imperial courts and plays. The martial arts used in combat on the battlefield was transformed into performance. The flipping and tumbling techniques, which are a major component of the dance form, evolved from martial arts.
According to the company’s website, New York-based Shen Yun has preserved the true aesthetics of this classical dance system—the way it has been passed down from antiquity—and presents this authentic culture in its purest form.
In addition to the physical techniques of the dance system, Mr. Park appreciated the expression and emotion delivered through the movements, saying that Shen Yun presents “every type of emotion you could possibly bring out in the show.”
In this year’s production, there is a story-based dance about a drunken monk who was also a martial artist that Mr. Park said was “funny, emotional, [and] powerful.”
“That was amazing because it was a display of dance with martial arts with some comedy as well,” he said.
Classical Chinese dance involves a dance-acting element where coordinating facial expressions with physical movements results in an amplified form of expression. The movements are rich in their ability to express a variety of feelings from happiness and grief to tipsiness and insanity, Shen Yun’s website explains.
Mr. Park was also impressed by Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which blends traditional Chinese instruments with a classical Western orchestra.
“It was so good that I didn’t even know the music was live,” he said. “You’re just so immersed into the music … it was beautiful.”
Mr. Park said he greatly admired and respected the performers and their ability to put on a new production every year.
Inspired and uplifted by Shen Yun, he said, “They’re enjoying inspiring people … it was a lot of fun!”
‘A Good Message to Put Out to the Public’
Chelsea Smith, a writer and musician, also attended Shen Yun with her mother Mary Smith at the Mahaffey Theater–Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31.
Musician Chelsea Smith with her mother, Mary Smith, at the Mahaffey Theater–Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on March 31. Yawen Hung/The Epoch Times
In addition to classical Chinese dance, Ms. Smith was inspired by Shen Yun’s traditional ethnic and folk dances.
“It’s just beautiful to see them all displayed in one place because you just get so much perspective of other people’s views and what they find beauty in,” she said. “And your idea of what beauty is just grows … so you’re just more appreciative of the world in general.”
As a professional violinist and music instructor, Ms. Smith was amazed by Shen Yun’s erhu soloist.
Incredibly expressive, the erhu (known as the “Chinese violin”) is a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument capable of conveying a broad range of emotions.
“You can get so much emotion from the two strings, it’s incredible … absolutely beautiful,” she said.
This was the first time Ms. Smith saw Shen Yun. Her mother, who encouraged her to attend, had already seen the performance twice since the company’s inception in 2006.
From the elegance of the classical Chinese dance to the message of hope and faith delivered through the dance stories, Mary Smith said, “I love it—all of it—that’s why I’m back the third time!”
Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, a meditation and spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
“We’re not communist China, so we’re not having those types of problems here like they are,” she said, “but we still have our own struggles and our own day-to-day, and life is hard.”
“I think the overall message of faith … forbearance and compassion … is universal,” she added. “I think it’s a good message to put out to the public.”
Reporting by NTD Television, Yawen Hung, and Jennifer Schneider.
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