SEARCH
COSTA MESA, Calif.—Haniyyah Tahirah Muhammad, a professional dancer, was at the Shen Yun Performing Arts New York performance on May 8, with Nation of Islam’s spiritual leader Mother Muhammad and her group.
Ms. Muhammad has been dancing professionally since 2006 and was inspired by the classical Chinese dance and music extravaganza.
“It was amazing, I loved it, it was great. I love the different colors and I loved the different themes, of each [dance], it was beautiful,” she said.
“I like how the women were very graceful and very elegant and the men were very masculine and very strong,” she said.
Based in New York, Shen Yun's exhilarating and colorful performance brings to the fore ancient values, thought to be divinely-inspired 5,000 years ago in China, the company's website says.
“The dancers move very well, I love the … technique that they have, I love the different elements of the flips and the acrobatics that they put in the show,” she said.
“I love the principles that they put in it.”
Others Value Shen Yun’s Ideals
Mr. Muhammad, an architect for more than 25 years who works with the City of Los Angeles, very much enjoyed the show.
“I loved it. This is our second time coming, and it’s really good,” he said.
“I like the stories, I like the spirit of it. I like the masculinity, I like the femininity without the decadence. It’s very beautiful—it’s of the highest level."
This idea of femininity and masculinity also resonated with his wife, Sandra.
“We like the fact that the dancers, the women, they’re covered, and the femininity with all of the dancers—you can see spirituality. You can feel it from all of the dancers from the heart, you can feel the feminine energy. And the men and the women, they’re different,” Mrs. Muhammad said.
“In America, everything is blended, sometimes you can’t tell man from woman or woman from man. But I see it’s beautiful, it’s separate. The women are women, and the men are men. That’s what I like,” she said.
“She put it well, that’s it, that’s the beauty,” agreed her husband.
“I like to see femininity expressed without all of the "sensuality;" I like that. It’s beautiful,” he said.
These expressions of femininity and masculinity come from the traditions of Chinese culture, which Shen Yun also seeks to revive in the world today through bringing them alive in the performing arts.
“It’s on a high level. Spiritually, artistically, morally—it’s high civilization, it’s not base, that’s what I like,” said Mr. Muhammad.
“I feel that it’s from heaven, and the dancers come down to help lift us up,” Mrs. Muhammad said.
Reporting by Jana Li and Ben Bendig.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
