Shen Yun Brings Ancient Chinese Culture to the Stage
China was once known as the Celestial Empire, its glorious culture said to have been brought down from the heavens. Most of this ancient world has been lost, until now…
In 2006, leading Chinese artists from around the world came together united by a mission: to revive authentic Chinese culture. They formed Shen Yun, an independent, non-profit organization based in New York.
I went to see Shen Yun on Superbowl Sunday and I still can’t find the words to describe what an amazing experience it was. Every performance told a story of Chinese culture, they truly brought to life the elegance of dance and martial arts accompanied by music that adds to the emotion of the characters the dancers are portraying. There were 2 vocal solos, 2 young sopranos that each used the traditional Chinese technique. Both of their pieces expressed the depth of emotions of Chinese people that are not able to practice their ancient traditions in their homeland. There was also an erhu soloist (two stringed ancient chinese instrument), and this woman brought me to tears with not only the beauty of how the music sounds, but the emotion behind it. Her hands were so fluid with these 2 strings, it seemed as if she had been playing for years.
China’s ancient civilization was deeply spiritual. Traditional Chinese culture is based on the idea of harmony among Heaven, Earth, and humankind. Unfortunately the Chinese Communist Party’s doctrine teaches just the opposite; officially atheist, it sees this spiritual culture as a threat to its power. For decades it has tried to destroy this ancient, peaceful, heritage. Even today, Shen Yun is not allowed to perform in China. People from China fly to see the beauty of Shen Yun.
China’s 5 thousand years of glorious culture has been preserved and passed down over generations through classical Chinese dance. One thing about classical Chinese dance most people may not know is that martial arts and dance actually have the same historical roots. This contributes to how expressive and intimate Chinese dance is, the personalities and feelings of characters in the dance truly come to life.
The music of Shen Yun is all original and written specifically for each performance. The Shen Yun Orchestra delivers this musical experience by blending the singular beauty of Chinese melodies with the precision and power of the Western orchestra, including ancient Chinese instruments such as the erhu and pipa. The erhu has only two strings, but it is said the erhu is the instrument most capable of resembling the human voice. The pipa (Chinese lute) is known as the “king of Chinese instruments”.
Shen Yun does not only share traditional Chinese dance, but also traditional Chinese vocal techniques. Ancient Chinese theater and early European opera shared the same singing technique, believed to produce the most beautiful and pure tone of voice. Both in Europe and China, however, this original technique has largely been lost. Today, Shen Yun’s singers are bringing it back to the stage. They are further distinguished by their unparalleled ability to sing this form of bel canto with emotion and perfect Chinese diction.
Each Shen Yun performance is a unique performance, just because you have seen it once does not mean you have seen it all! Shen Yun comes annually to the Cleveland theaters. You can find out details on their homepage,(https://www.shenyunperformingarts.org/ ).
Let’s support the revival of ancient Chinese culture!
