Why You Should See the Oxygen-Depriving Shen Yun Performance

By -
    Lately, many of you may have seen a trailer advertisement for a performance called Shen Yun on TV or YouTube. This past year, I told my parents that I really wanted to see it. So, as a Christmas present, my parents got me two tickets.

There were exactly two things that made the experience one of the best in my life: 1) we had front row seats directly in front of the stage (seriously, the only thing between myself and my mom was the orchestra pit) and 2) Every aspect of the show was so well executed that the only way for you to understand how amazing it was is to go.Warning: Do not attend if you cannot go without air for a very long time, as the majority of the 2 hour show will be spent gasping in awe and holding your breath in suspense

I'm honestly very tempted to make a super long post describing every detail I can remember about the show. However, I would also like to make this post a little reader friendly, so I will just share a few details that I found to be the highlights.

 This is the part you start reading if you don't have much time or interest in the topic

 Highlight 1) Classical Chinese dance incorporates a huge amount of acrobatics and tumbling, unlike classical ballet. This means the dancers deliver a stunning amount of flips, hand springs, and mid-air splits that make you gasp in wonder (see note above) and wince a little in pain

Highlight 2) They dance with a large amount of props, such as fans, umbrellas, scarfs, scarf sleeves, and eight-cornered handkerchiefs (they also did some things with bowls). The props are utilized so well that their presence flows seamlessly into the dance. The tricks they do, especially with the handkerchiefs, are in danger of causing viewers to pass out from holding their breath (also see note above)

Highlight 3)  The level of the dancers' coordination with each other is pretty much beyond belief. It is obvious that a lot of hard work has gone into achieving this effect. For example, when they use all their props and bodies to create an image (say of a flower) and move the image, (say to emulate the wind blowing the flower) it is so flawlessly done you almost can't trust it to be real, and as I mentioned before, will probably not be breathing at this point either.
This is the part where you stop reading if you have run out of time

Basically, even if you have no interest or prior knowledge of Chinese dance, the beauty, acrobatics, and sheer athleticism of the performance should be enough to keep almost anyone engaged. At the very least, you can brag that you saw a show that most people will never see, as Shen Yun does not release DVDs of their performances, taking videos and picture of the show breaks copyright law, and each year the dances and music are completely new.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How YouTube Helped Me Become More Asian!

By -
Image
I have frequently heard that you can learn how to fix anything nowadays using the internet. For example, I know someone who was able to fix their car and someone else who was able to repair their troublesome washing machine just by using Google and YouTube. They were happy to say that in the long run, using the internet had saved them money and the frustration of dealing with a repair shop. Thankfully, the problem I needed fixed with the internet was not a matter of saving my money or my sanity. It was merely a matter of learning how to use chopsticks. I had always felt a little embarrassed that I didn't know how to perform one of the most basic Asian functions. Thus, one of my first goals after the I-Am-Chinese epiphany of 2015 was to learn how to use these utensils. One hot summer day that year, I found myself hunched over our family kitchen table, chopsticks in hand, watching a pix-elated  five-minute YouTube video. It starred a twelve-year old boy demonstrating how to use c...
Read more

Back In It!

By -
   Wow, wow, wow... It's been almost exactly a year since I last posted (oops!) Soooooo, I figure a decent explanation for my going "radio silent" is in order.    Alright! *rubs hands together* Here's my confession: I am (just a bit) attention-hungry, so I was getting a wee bit discouraged at how my blog was receiving very little attention.  I also happen to be (just a bit) lazy , so I found striving to get just one blog post pumped out a week a stretch of my meager energies and willpower. Additionally, I was disappointed that few people seemed interested in joining me in fulfilling my Mission Statement (laid out in my About Tab). Finally, I was full of self-doubt, regarding my writing ability as well as the value of what I had to contribute. In short, it seemed that what I had to offer was too immature, and not very interesting. At the time, I didn't feel there was anything I could do to fix these problems. So instead, I just gave up (my laziness thanked ...
Read more

¡Viva Nicaragua Libre!

By -
Image
By Julia Wellham This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for a six week study abroad program. One of the more interesting cultural experiences for me was being in León during the celebration of the Revolution. This July 19 marked the 38th anniversary of the Nicaraguan Revolution, which ended in 1979 when the FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) successfully overthrew the oppressive Somoza dictatorship/dynasty. It was followed by the 10 year Contra War between the Sandinistas and US backed counter-revolutionaries. It was an incredibly brutal and bloody time. Most of Nicaragua supported the Sandinistas, and there has been a lot of anger over US imperialism. Many still resent past US interventions as well as current endeavors such as the Nica Act . However, their anger towards and mistrust of the United States does not seem to extend to Americans themselves (at least not average citizens like us). It was a new experience for me to have someo...
Read more