8 Shen Yun Principal Dancers Share Their Hard-Earned Lessons

In the enchanting world of classical Chinese dance, each movement acts as a lyrical brushstroke, creating poetry in the air. With every leap, arc, and spin on stage, a skilled dancer encapsulates the ephemeral beauty of existence, at once intensely alive yet exquisitely fleeting.

Here, Magnifissance revisits the interviews with eight principal dancers from the world-renowned Shen Yun Performing Arts, in which they unveil their treasured lessons on mastering this ancient art form. Let’s marvel at their magical movements as they glide through the air.

Shen Yun Principal Dancer I

Angelia Wang
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2007

“I love calligraphy as a hobby. Just like classical Chinese dance, calligraphy seeks beauty from the inside out. Both art forms embody the opposing yin and yang principles—moving backward first to move forward, or going right first to go left—a unique concept rooted in traditional Chinese culture.”
—Angelia Wang

Angelia Wang is undoubtedly one of the most seasoned performers in Shen Yun, having joined the company from its beginnings in 2007. Although almost two decades have passed, she still carries the same youthful grace and passion for classical Chinese dance as she did on her first day. Yet, what has evolved over the years is her deepening sense of bearing—an intriguing aspect inherent in classical Chinese dance. Bearing is a mysterious quality that transcends mere physicality. It requires a continual inner refinement that allows the performer to express the subtlest of emotions through even the tiniest of movements.

As Wang puts it, “Good art relies on accumulation—a solid skill that is mastered over time. When you really master it, people will naturally see it on the stage and paper.”

Shen Yun Principal Dancer II

Melody Qin
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2008

“After the Cultural Revolution, many traditions were lost. I feel so lucky that I came to Shen Yun, where I can understand how magnificent the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization truly is. Every year, we will try new skills and choreography, always exploring new things, bit by bit, reviving the lost traditional Chinese culture.”
—Melody Qin

Unlike what most might think—that dancing is all about strenuous and acrobatic movements—Melody Qin has a different view. “Your body follows your mind. You must first deeply understand the character,” she explains.

She illustrates this sentiment with a pivotal experience from her time in Shen Yun—one that enabled her to truly express herself through dance when she performed the character of the “White Bone Demon,” a fiendish figure in the Chinese classic Journey to the West.

“The roles I had played before were pure, like fairies, or ladies in ancient times,” she says. “It was the first time I played the role of a demon. I was embarrassed. I couldn’t do the movements and make the expression in my eyes.”

Qin struggled until a dance teacher opened her mind to the truth—that by playing a villainous role can one truly comprehend righteousness. In other words, the performative experience of evil shines a light on its meaningful contrast with good, adding substance to a dancer’s art.

Shen Yun Principal Dancer III

Tiffany Lin
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2009

“In our training, teachers often say, ‘When hands and eyesight are in the right positions, the heart should be so as well. Then that will really become a complete and beautiful dance move.’”
—Tiffany Lin

Over 20 years ago, there was a young girl from Taiwan who had a secret wish. Day after day, she dreamt of soaring into the heavens to dance with celestial maidens upon cloud tops. “I want to dance with them!” she would whisper to herself as she drifted off to sleep at night.

In 2008, Tiffany Lin’s dream became a reality when she joined the famed Shen Yun in New York. Though she started out as the youngest and most inexperienced member in the company, she has since risen through the ranks to become a veteran principal dancer. Over the years, she has graced the stages of some of the world’s most prestigious theatres, dancing with the same beautiful, ethereal ladies she dreamt of for so long. In turn, Tiffany Lin now inspires the imagination of a whole new generation of would-be dancers.

Shen Yun Principal Dancer IV

Michelle Lian
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2013

“Beauty is something that creates a positive feeling in other people.”
—Michelle Lian

“Many small things come together to create my concept of beauty—and confidence is a major component of beauty,” says Michelle Lian, one of Shen Yun’s principal dancers. Lian shares a pivotal experience that built her confidence in her early days at the company—dancing in Yellow Flowers, one of her first lead roles. Astonishingly for such a talented performer, when she was given the part, she was unsure whether or not she was up to the task.

“It takes courage to face insecurity and fear,” Lian confides. Sensing her self-doubt, her fellow dancers bolstered their teammate’s morale with unspoken yet heartfelt support. During one rehearsal before Yellow Flowers went on tour, the company’s skilful performers came together to do something very special for Lian. “In every movement, they deliberately held back, allowing me to stand out more within the group,” she recalls, touched. “I saw just how much extra effort they were putting in to help me shine as the lead. That moment became a turning point, giving me the confidence I needed.”

Shen Yun Principal Dancer V

Evangeline Zhu
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2013

“Our classical Chinese teacher teaches us that if one wants to do great things, three conditions are needed: the mandate of heaven, virtuous conduct, and talent.”
—Evangeline Zhu

Evangeline Zhu was fortunate to grow up in a creative household where the arts were both celebrated and encouraged. She was taught piano from the tender age of five, with dance lessons commencing not long after. However, it wasn’t until joining Shen Yun that Zhu felt she had lifted the veil on the innermost workings of the fascinating artforms that had so deeply infused her youth. In other words, it was not the modern-day glorification of wealth and status that was most important, but the thoughtful cultivation of one’s own virtues.

At Shen Yun, Zhu and her fellow dancers have the rare opportunity to master a long-lost technique—one now unique to the company—known as shen-dai-shou and kua-dai-tui, or ‘the body leads the hands, the hips lead the legs’. This treasured method represents the pinnacle of classical Chinese dance; one that allows practitioners to extend their movements to their fullest expression of beauty. “This extension not only adds grace and dynamism but also creates more space for expression, making the performance more powerful,” Zhu illustrates.

Shen Yun Principal Dancer VI

Bella Fan
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2016

“Being a classical Chinese dancer has made me more confident, resilient, patient, and persevering.”
—Bella Fan

Traditional Chinese arts, at their core, aim to touch the soul. Whether the process involves the sweep of a brush, the strum of a guzheng, or the incantation of a verse, artistic meaning is embedded in every fleeting nuance. For Bella Fan, in dance, this meaning speaks through every aspect of her form, from the arch of her arm to the specific tempo of her steps. The body becomes a breathing paintbrush, through which the heart expresses itself. “This is why classical Chinese dance begins in the heart,” Fan says.

Shen Yun Principal Dancer VII

Carol Huang
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2017

“The same movement can express different things because the feeling behind the movement is different. This is one of the unique characteristics of classical Chinese dance.”
—Carol Huang

Carol Huang was born to dance. With her slender figure and natural litheness, she began training at the age of four, and has danced her way to excellence, having achieved three prized gold medals at the NTD International Classical Chinese Dance Competition.

As a rising star in Shen Yun, Huang scooped the coveted role of Lady Diao Chan. One of Chinese history’s most legendary beauties, Lady Diao Chan achieved what no warrior could—ending a reign of terror through her ingenious orchestration of a love triangle between a ruthless tyrant and his adopted son. When asked how she managed to portray such a storied and enigmatic figure—in as little as 10 minutes—Huang shared a unique perspective. Namely, while most dancers tend to focus on Diao Chan’s extraordinary beauty and remarkable gifts for cunning and intrigue, Huang instead chose to centre her performance on the Lady’s deepest emotions.

At the beginning, Huang had assumed that the toughest part would involve her scenes with the tyrant and son—full of rapid movements and difficult techniques. However, as she delved deeper into the character, the crucial event was in fact when Diao Chan’s father turns to her for help: “I could feel the deep struggle within her at that moment—whether to sacrifice herself for the cause, to serve someone as treacherous and ruthless as Dong Zhuo, with her life constantly at risk,” Huang elucidates. “Finally, she chooses to sacrifice herself for the sake of others. She’s very courageous.”

Shen Yun Principal Dancer VIII

Lillian Parker
Performing with Shen Yun since: 2018

“It feels more mysterious, with the feeling slowly leaking out instead of just exploding on the stage.”
—Lillian Parker

As a child growing up in Toronto, it had never occurred to Lillian Parker that she would one day join the hallowed ranks of the world’s finest classical Chinese dancers. Yet, when the opportunity came, she excelled.

For Parker, classical Chinese dance is more than flawlessly executed tumbling and jumps. Bearing—the expression of inner feelings through form—is in fact one of the most integral components of artistry.

“For Westerners it’s a little different, because we’re already quite open,” she describes. “I think of it as concentrating the feeling in my heart, then pushing it from the inside to the outside. It has a lot of power.”