SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Artist: Shen Yun Has the Rhythm of Nature and Brings Meditative Peace

Feb 27, 2023

MIAOLI, Taiwan—Ceramic artist Lin Tsung-Hsien watched Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Miaobei Art Center on Feb. 26. Mr. Lin said that the water sleeves dance left a deep impression on him.

“The visual composition of the water sleeves dance was very interesting,” said Mr. Lin. “It was beautifully choreographed.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company.

The long, flowing “water sleeves” have been part of classical Chinese dance for thousands of years.

“It was very unique, visually,” said Mr. Lin. “The dance we usually see consists of vertical movements, such as jumps or waves. Yet [classical Chinese dance] moves in ripples, and includes horizontal movements.”

“The water sleeves costumes had beautiful colors and were very pleasing to look at.” Mr. Lin praised the layered effect the dance created. “The horizontal movements paired with the beautiful, gradient colors of the sleeves made it look like a part of nature.”

“It was like [seeing] the rhythm of nature,” said Mr. Lin. “It was beautiful, like ripples.”

“The Tibetan dance was very interesting too,” Mr. Lin added. “There was an added gentleness to the power it had. We often think of Tibetan dance as very bold and unrestrained, but the dancers were youthfully energetic, and the movements flowed very well.”

In addition to the dance and the colors, Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, which allows dancers to travel between the stage the background, also caught Mr. Lin’s eye.

“It combines technology with tradition, and is a very innovative creation,” said Mr. Lin. “The way the digital backdrop and the dancers interacted was very entertaining and easy to understand; the children [in the audience] were all laughing, and could understand [the performance].”

‘Planted in My Mind’

Mr. Lin talked about the unseen benefits he obtained through watching Shen Yun.

“It’s like saving a computer file,” he said. “This will be planted in my mind, and perhaps will suddenly resurface when I am in need of it one day.”

The colors Shen Yun uses are very Eastern, very saturated, very bold, and very enjoyable.

— Lin Tsung-Hsien

“I myself use a more Eastern color scheme, because there are many bold colors” said Mr. Lin. As an artist, he found the colors in Shen Yun’s performance to be very inspiring. “The colors Shen Yun uses are very Eastern, very saturated, very bold, and very enjoyable.”

“The cool and warm colors are very well coordinated. Although they are highly saturated, they are not unpleasant to look at. I might try using some bolder colors myself in the future.”

Mr. Lin said he felt that Taiwanese people are not very confident in their culture, especially when it comes to current arts.

“[We] often consider things from a Western perspective, instead of looking at things and making creations from the perspective of our own culture. Actually, when it comes to passing on traditional Chinese culture, the beauty of it is what’s most important.”

“When you go to a museum and see an artifact, you won’t see anything ugly; everything is beautiful. They are blessings to people.”

A Blessing of Peace

Mr. Lin said that to him, Shen Yun was a blessing that brought peace.

“This is what beauty should bring to people,” he said.

Mr. Lin said that the performance gave him confidence.

“Everyone looked so happy. Bringing people positive energy will be something I will continue to aim for in my own works, because people who are happy will not commit bad deeds and will not want to harm others.”

Actually, the greatest power art has is to bring peace to people.

— Lin Tsung-Hsien

“Actually, the greatest power art has is to bring peace to people,” said Mr. Lin. He believed that Shen Yun was extremely powerful, and could bring peace to different people in different ways. “I was very calm and very happy this entire afternoon.”

“Everyone gathering in one place to admire something beautiful is basically a form of cultivation,” said Mr. Lin. “There was this peaceful energy that was very soothing.”

“It’s meditative. For me, creating art is a form of cultivation. Music is a form a cultivation. Today’s performance brought me a meditative peace.”

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.