Special Guests

Culture vs Communism (Guest: Various Shen Yun Speakers)

How Chinese Dance is Winning Hearts and Minds in China – and around the World

There are countless reasons why the government of Communist China (CCP) has been threatening Taiwan’s freedom. Whether it be Democratic principles of economic freedom and production, or other threats posed to the CCP, Taiwan is resented. Believe it or not, one reason may be the cultural manifestation of Shen Yun, which is a highly disciplined brand of classical Chinese dance and music, on the island of Taiwan.

In short, Communists not only don’t like what they perceive as dissent but even worse sometimes, is the support the supposed dissenters receive. Shen Yun garners an enormous amount of respect around the globe for many reasons. Chief among those – other than the beauty of the dance – is the incredibly hard work its adherents put in to demonstrate this centuries-old practice.

The CCP so rejects Shen Yun that the show is not even available in China. The communists view it as a threat to their goal of destroying Chinese culture. In many ways, this not only drives Shen Yun dancers to perform at even higher levels of excellence but the fruits of their passion and commitment do not go unnoticed by people all over the world, to include Taiwan.

As if that weren’t enough to inspire people, the Chinese people in mainland China have developed what’s been called “Shen Yun fever”, like teenage children who are told by their parents they can’t have something. The result? They want it even more. Now, people from all over the Asian continent – travel to Taiwan to see the Shen Yun performances.

It’s difficult for people to imagine or even understand how embracing one’s own culture can be perceived as such a threat by communists, who want to destroy that culture.

Schedule an interview with Shen Yun today to learn about this incredibly inspiring movement!

Here is a relevant article on the subject:

https://www.shenyun.org/news/view/article/e/ML3kdTLEoYY/asians-flock-to-see-shen-yun-taiwan-shows

FROM SHEN YUN

Piotr Huang

Shen Yun Principal Dancer Piotr Huang holds a Master of Fine Arts in classical Chinese dance from Fei Tian College in New York. He won gold in New Tang Dynasty Television’s 2014 International Classical Chinese Dance Competition’s and has performed over 1,500 shows with Shen Yun on the some of the world’s most prestigious stages. Born in Poland, Mr. Huang may have pursued a basketball career had he not turned his energies to dance.

 Samples of Piotr on camera:

 
 Shindy Cai

Shindy Cai was born and raised in Sacramento, California. She attended the San Francisco High School of the Arts before furthering her studies in classical Chinese dance at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts in New York. She has been touring with Shen Yun since 2013 and has performed in over 900 shows around the world. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, has a secret weakness for chocolate chip cookies and good poetry, and gets overly excited when she hears great music.

 Samples of Shindy on camera:

Jared Madsen

 Jared was one of the first students from Iowa to study in China where he fell in love with Chinese culture. For the past 18 years, Jared has served as MC for Shen Yun Performing Arts.

 Samples of Jared on camera:

Alice Liu

Alice Liu has performed over 1,500 shows with Shen Yun to date. A timpanist and percussionist, she also performed with Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues, is featured on many recordings for CD and DVD, and boasts more than 16 years of orchestral performance experience.

FROM FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER

Levi Browde

 Levi Browde serves as the Executive Director with the New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center – an organization dedicated to ending the human rights abuses against people who practice Falun Gong in China.

Over the past 20 years, Browde has been interviewed and quoted by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Associated PressTIME Magazine, BBC, AFP, and other media outlets. He has spoken about Falun Gong and human rights in China at briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, at the United Nations human rights sessions in Geneva, Switzerland.

Browde studied East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University and is an avid supporter of traditional Chinese culture. He founded several software start-ups, and lives in New York with his wife and two sons.

Samples of Levi on camera:

For Interviews, contact Bookings@SpecialGuests.com or call Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983

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