United States: Chinese Singer says Shen Yun Awakened My Dreams

Ms. Yang is a singer from Beijing. She attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts show in Nashville, Tennessee on February 19th, 2011. After the show she said with excitement, “Excellent! I am so touched! I trully did not expect that it would be so wonderful, of such international quality. I have not had enough; I really want to watch it a few more times!”

Ms. Yang, a Chinese mezzo-soprano, attended the Shen Yun February 19th show in Nashville, Tennessee

Ms. Yang's mother is an oil painter and her father is a writer. She graduated from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Art School and used to be a mezzo-soprano singer in the Air Force Song and Dance Ensemble. She eventually got tired of the environment and complex interpersonal relationships in the performance business and later became a music publisher.

According to Yang, a friend of hers gave her a ticket to the Shen Yun show as a birthday present. When she heard that it was a performance of Chinese culture, she initially refused to go. “I swore that I would never want to see Chinese singing and dancing again,” said Ms. Yang. Her friend persuaded her, “You must go. I know you still have dreams about art.”

Ms. Yang was thrilled after the show and spoke with tears in her eyes, “I am so glad I came! I can't help but crying after seeing the show because I saw the spirit of artists pursuing art with their lives and it has awakened my dream again. After I came to the US, to make a living, I had to switch careers. I was overwhelmed being able to see a grand arts group performing such beautiful, superb, pure Chinese culture! I have not had dinner tonight but I am not hungry at all. I am so excited to know that there are still artists like me who are deeply inspired by art.”

“Shen Yun unfolded China's 5,000 years of traditional culture, the authentic art and culture. Shen Yun rediscovered our lost tradition.”

Ms. Yang said that she loved all of Shen Yun's dances. “There are no words in dancing. However, Shen Yun's dances expressed the spirit in the stories better than words ever could. They made me want to cry. I cried when I saw the kind of beauty and spirit in the dance in 'Plum Blossom.'”

Yang was able to name almost all the titles of the individual dances on the programme. She said, “I remembered many of the titles because the dances were so impressive and so beautiful. They were full of the traditional charm. Every dance grasps the essence and character of every dynasty or ethnicity. The moves, costumes, the overall performance were exceptional!”

Ms. Yang felts that the ethnic dances were absolutely charming. “Every ethnic group has its unique style, very elegant and refreshing. The expressions were full of emotions and vitality, with special essence and deeper meanings, very different from the dances one sees in China [today]. The ethnic dances in China today are uncouth but Shen Yun's dances are elegant. For example, the dancing in 'Harvest Joy' expresses festivity, simplicity, enthusiasm and happiness. It was so much fun.”

Th music also impressed Yang. She said, “The music is outstanding and the orchestra's performance was perfect. The music and the dances blend together flawlessly. It is hard to come by when all the music is original. Amazing. The pianist did a wonderful job, which is very important in a show.”