SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Dance Teacher Sees Inner Beauty of Shen Yun Dancers’ Movements

Mar 05, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS—Donna Brum and Ronald Doran attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Clowes Memorial Hall, Butler Arts Center on March 5. Ms. Brum, semi-retired, has owned her own dance studio for 53 years and teaches ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop, lyrical dance. Mr. Doran is a Professor of Social Work at Ball State University.

Mr. Doran said that Ms. Brum has been waiting seven years to see Shen Yun and was delighted with everything. With her background in dance, Ms. Brum was impressed. “I thought it was phenomenal absolutely phenomenal. The technique and everything was beautiful!”

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. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture.

Ms. Brum noted the dancers’ technique.

“A lot of lyrical moves in there, I liked that. It’s very smooth. Everything is together; their arms are together, the bodies are together. And their tumbling and gymnastics are wonderful. They’re so light on their feet and their technique and everything is just beautiful.”

As the theatergoers learn during the performance, classical Chinese dance is, alongside ballet, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world. Developed over thousands of years, it has also influenced many other art forms including acrobatics and gymnastics.

Ms. Brum said it was obvious all the hard work and practice that went into the performance. “Their body, they have to work every day on it,” she said. “Absolutely.”

She especially admired the how the dancers used the long sleeves in one of the dances. “I love the long sleeves how they let it flow and, then they caught it and then it flowed again. I think they would have to practice a lot because as it’s coming down, they have to make sure that everything is perfect.”

Ms. Brum was happy that the stories were explained in two languages. “I love that, too. That was beautiful. I’m glad they explained it in both languages so that we can see what was happening. They portrayed it quite well.”

With her extensive experience in dance, Ms. Brum said she could see the inner beauty of the dancers’ movements.

“They have to have it inside of them. They have to love dance in order to portray that. If you don’t love it, it’s not going to happen,” she said. “You can see it in their faces. You can see it in their movements, you can see it in everything. They’ve got it.”

The episode about the monk made Ms. Brum laugh. “I loved the Monk. The humor. I loved the humor of it, because it’s really hard to find, but they did a great job of illustrating that. They bring up the love in your heart.”

Mr. Doran also felt the love expressed by the performers. “The whole show was just full of love. It was fantastic, and the hard work that these people put in to it. The audience was great, too. They were loving it.”

“I loved it,” Ms. Brum said. “I loved it. I loved it. I would recommend it to everyone to come and see this.”

Mr. Doran noted that Shen Yun cannot be seen in China. “It’s a shame they can’t show this in China. I mean this would be just fantastic for the people living there to help them understand what’s going on.”

Reporting by Stacey Tang.

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