ST. LOUIS—Dawn Joy noticed the spirituality emanating from Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company performance at the Peabody Opera Theater on April 19. “It’s hard not to. You had to not really be watching to not see that,” she said of the traditional Chinese dance and music company.
Shen Yun, based in New York, brings 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture to the world. Through world-class dancers and singers, high-tech backdrops, handmade costumes, and a unique orchestra combining instruments of both the East and West, Shen Yun presents a lavish performance.
Mrs. Joy, a business analyst for a credit card company, felt that even some of the Shen Yun dancers’ poses embodied spirituality. She said it was intriguing to see how comprehensive the spirituality was.
One of the dances depicts the persecution of people of faith in China today. Mrs. Joy’s reaction to the dance was a feeling that one should be able to practice one’s faith freely. “You should be able to and if they are not able to do that in the country then it’s a shame,” she said.
Ernie Joy, in corporate security, attended the performance with his wife.
“It was excellent. I’ve seen some dancing when I was in Hong Kong, but not quite like this. It was excellent. The dancers were great, the orchestra was right on,” he said.
“And the costuming,” Mrs. Joy interjected.
“The costuming was great, that really made it, so we enjoyed it very much,” Mr. Joy said.
“It is definitely eye opening as far as the different dances from the different [ethnicities], China being so large—the expectation of different variations around the country, you can definitely see the difference,” Mrs. Joy said.
Mrs. Joy was referring to two types of dances that Shen Yun highlights: classical Chinese dance, and folk or ethnic dances, representing some of the more than 50 different ethnicities in the country.
Mr. Joy, part Hawaiian, has traveled to China: Beijing, Guangzhou, and loves the Chinese culture.
“I always appreciate learning more about other cultures and this was definitely a nice way to see from the dance perspective. We do a Polynesian dance so … there is a style of dancing that Polynesians have. But looking at the Chinese style of dancing, it’s much more physical than what we do, so it’s a very impressive kind of skill in the dancers.”
With reporting by Valerie Avore and Sharon Kilarski
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
