PORTLAND, Ore.—Kathleen Avila and Shannan Ahern, owners of Dance Arts Unlimited in Madras, Ore., found inspiration in Shen Yun Performing Art’s grace and beauty at Portland’s Keller Auditorium on Jan. 18.

“We’re very inspired because we’re dance teachers, so we want to use this music next year. We’re inspired by it to do a piece next year,” Ms. Avila said.

Ms. Ahern shared in her colleague’s excitement and wonder: “It’s just phenomenal, just incredible. The colors, the multiple levels of performance, it’s just incredible to watch,” she said.

China’s deep cultural traditions are contained in classical Chinese dance, allowing its movements to be richly expressive, such that the personalities and feelings of characters can be portrayed with unparalleled clarity.

“They are so graceful on their heels, like ballerinas are on-point, and you don’t hear them—it’s beautiful,” noted Ms. Avila.

Classical Chinese dance has its own set of training methods in basic skills and has strict training in both physical expression and specific postures. It also involves learning combinations of leaps, turns, flips, spins, and other aerial and tumbling techniques. It is a vast and independent system of dance.

“We loved it, it’s beautiful,” Ms. Avila said. “Thank you for coming to Portland.”

Reporting by Fany Qiu and Lauren Morency DePhillips.

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.