Category: Traditional Culture

Faith Drives Dancer to Show World the Truth About China

China is more than what we see today, said Aaron Huynh, a classical Chinese dancer who went from barely understanding the culture to becoming a member of the world-renowned Shen Yun Performing Arts. On Sept. 4, he took to the stage on his own at the NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition, and secured a…


Conveying Core Virtues Through Dance

Jesse Browde has been on tour with Shen Yun Performing Arts, which brings the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to stages everywhere in the world except China—but Sept. 4 was his first time performing solo on stage. “I’m very nervous!” he said after he performed in the semifinal round of the NTD International Classical Chinese…


New Generation of Dancers Recover Chinese Culture

Every time Shen Yun Performing Arts dancer Marilyn Yang takes to the stage, she feels a sense of responsibility. On Sept. 4 in New York where she performed solo for the NTD International Classical Chinese Dance semifinals, it was the same. “As an artist you have a responsibility for what you’re expressing,” she said. “There’s…


Finalists Announced for NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition

The once-nearly-lost 5,000 years of Chinese civilization came alive in New York on Sept. 4, 2021 as dancers from around the globe participated in the 9th NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition. The classical Chinese dance competition is one in a series of international cultural and arts events aimed at promoting traditional culture. In China, this culture has been…


Meaning in Every Movement: Conveying Emotions and Timeless Virtues Through Dance

Coming from a family of artists, Marilyn Yang was exposed to classical Chinese art forms from an early age. Her two brothers were dancers and her mother was a bel canto singer, all at Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world’s premier classical Chinese performing arts company. It was almost inevitable that Yang, 19, would one…


Words and Play: The Delights of Language

Like spices in our recipes, language can liven up our senses. In his blurb to Willard R. Espy’s “An Almanac of Words at Play,” writer and once longtime host of television’s “Masterpiece Theater” Alistair Cooke tells readers: “To Willard Espy, the English language is what football is to Joe Namath, a golf ball to Arnold…


Beethoven: Immortal and Beloved

Ludwig von Beethoven is inarguably one of the greatest composers Western civilization has ever produced. The staying power of his music is undeniable, with pieces like “Ode to Joy,” “Für Elise,” and “Moonlight Sonata” routinely used in everything from movies to commercials even now, nearly 200 years after his death. The dun dun dun DUUUUUN…


The Spirit of Jade: Its Sacred and Noble Status in Chinese Culture

Jade is a beautiful stone that suggests water-like fluidity and kindness. Beyond its delicate yet firm texture, it embodies thousands of years of Chinese culture. One can get a sense of Chinese people’s long-lasting admiration for the luster and brilliance of jade through children’s names, poetry, literature, and paintings.  A Tale of Jade From the…


Valley of Death: The Civil War and the Shenandoah Valley

Travel down I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley, and you’ll find this corridor jam-packed with attractions: numerous caverns, a museum featuring reconstructed European houses intended to demonstrate their influence on American architecture, Cyrus McCormick’s farm, a warehouse filled with gaudy floats from inauguration parades, and much more. You’ll also pass through rolling hills and farmlands—the valley…


Germany’s Oldest Porcelain Palace: Rastatt Favorite Palace

Rastatt Favorite Palace, located near Baden-Baden, Germany—where Romans discovered healing hot springs—served as a pleasure palace for the Margravine Sibylla Augusta (1675–1733). It is a short carriage ride from Schloss Rastatt, the oldest Baroque residence in the German Upper-Rhine. The oldest of Germany’s so-called porcelain palaces—home of one of the world’s largest collections of Chinese…