Shen Yun’s Toronto Connection

NTDTV via Live Culture: When Shen Yun Performing Arts, the Chinese classical dance and music extravaganza, pulls into Toronto's Sony Centre this week for a five-show run (January 13 – 16), it will be a kind of homecoming for principal dancers Cindy Liu and Lily Wang both of whom were born in China but spent their formative years in Toronto.

Q. How do you achieve this purity and beauty that you mentioned?

Cindy: While enjoying Chinese classical dance, the more you watch it, the more difference and beauty you will find in it. Chinese classical dance, like the Chinese poems and calligraphy, focuses more on the spirit, although the physical part is also very important. Whether it is a turn or jump, you can incisively and vividly express the inner emotions through rhythm and techniques. Chinese classical dance focuses on water-like circular movements and smoothness. Besides perfecting the skills, a dancer should also focus on inner self-cultivation, and always maintain tranquility and peace. Only through this the purity, elegance and gracefulness implied and expressed by the performance can move the viewers.

Being based on the divine, Chinese culture would have no spirit if is detached from the divine. There are many legends and philosophies passed down in Chinese culture. You need to explore these cultural backgrounds and implications of the dances to be an excellent and qualified dancer. More...