sunday evening, i witnessed one of the most precise, amazing performances i've seen. shen yun is masterfully choreographed, performed, and costumed. imagine sleeves that extend yards past a dancer's hands that seem to float and hang mid-air as the dancer throws her arms up. imagine jumps a la rudolf nureyev that end in a perfect landing without even a wobble of one's foot. these dancers were MASTERS.
now the really interesting part is that shen yun is also a platform to promote falun dafa. imagine dancers facing a backdrop of a five-story tall buddha. next, the dancers transition off the stage and appear to be flying through the air towards said buddha. i tried to find a video to clarify but all i could find was shen yun promo clips which conveniently omit buddha.
as much as i love dance, it's a bit hard to stomach a religious and political agenda cloaked under the guise of protecting 5,000 year old cultural traditions. still, it's great to see dance in st. louis and even better when it's my husband's idea to see it!