Shen Yun Brings the ‘Grace of the Divine Into Living Expression’ Says Birmingham Patron
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BIRMINGHAM, U.K.—Douglas Andrew Laird, owner and founder of Peak Care in north Derbyshire, was deeply impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts at the ICC Birmingham Hall on Jan, 8.
“I think this brings the grace of God, the grace of the Divine into living expression, in the dance and the movement and the color,” he said. “Everything about it was a living portrayal of the beauty of life.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.
According to the company’s website, the presented heroes embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization and convey morals still relevant to the modern day.
I think that’s a message for the soul to use our physique in a way that’s graceful, and not hard and rigid, and that life is meant to be a flow.
“Their energy and their gracefulness are fantastic,” said Mr. Laird, “I think that’s a message for the soul to use our physique in a way that’s graceful, and not hard and rigid, and that life is meant to be a flow.”
“But I think this is a real portrayal of faith and the divine origin and the creator of life and all that we enjoy,” he added, “It’s a marvelous show and a marvelous presentation.”
China’s authentic culture is inseparable from its spiritual heritage—where a pantheon of divine beings, spiritual cultivators, and mythology has shaped the culture for 5,000 years, according to the company’s website. As such, Shen Yun often includes spiritually uplifting messages.
“[Shen Yun] brings out a different dimension in life, for young people and all ages, to see the wonder of life beyond,” said Mr. Laird, “There’s more to it than just ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ in a selfish way … [the performance] just brings out a wider context of the reality of a divine being … it presents a message to all faith groups … it’s got great messages in there for everybody.”
Since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006, they have grown from one to eight equally large companies that tour the world simultaneously. After the Chinese communist regime seized power in 1949, the age-old culture was on the brink of extinction. Shen Yun says its performance this year demonstrates “China before communism.”
“They’re serving the world,” said Mr. Laird. “I just hope they’ll continue and become larger and spread to every community and country around the world, every nation, press, leaders, and presidents and everybody gets the flavor and the message in their hearts and in their lives.”
“I see [Shen Yun] as a standard for others, something to aim at,” he said. “They’re breaking new ground … taking their wisdom and what they learned 5,000 years ago to bring it into this present age: Breaking out of a rigid restraint and dark time, that we’re in, to bring new light and life to what we live in now.”
‘We Need This Type of Program’
Gregory Wessels, clinic owner and homeopathic doctor, also attended the matinee performance on Jan. 8.
“It left me with a very, very deep, positive impression and emotion,” he said. “There are just no words sufficient to express the power, and the beauty, and the emotion, and the values that are found in the performance.”
“I was absolutely impressed, deeply impressed, by the fact that the performers were expressing from within themselves, that which they actually believe in,” he added. “Magnificently presented and magnificently put together in such a way that it emphasizes the deep spiritual qualities, as well as the moral qualities, that we should all be following.”
China was once known as “The Land of the Divine” and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdom’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the company’s website.
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” said Mr. Wessels, “A beautiful human being is a joy forever and that’s, I believe, where the program has directed our thoughts this evening: be all that you can be to the glory and honor and praise of God and then you will be a joy to others for as long as you exist.”
“No great work of art is a is a work of coincidence, you have to be someone that has something in you that’s driving you to express it through your art … without inspiration, you could never create a program that expresses the deep values as powerfully as was done in this program.”
“The message is a beautiful message: It’s a loving message: It’s a healing message: It’s a powerful message,” he said.
“We need this type of program to bring that back to our minds to remind us of why we are here, who we are.”
Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
