Unforgettable Happy Times at the Shen Yun Examination Center: Teacher Recounts Flying High

【Epoch Times News – February 14, 2025】Toronto, Canada’s Tai Hong is currently a young teacher at the Shen Yun Training Center. Faced with recent inaccurate reports about Shen Yun in overseas media, he wants to share his true experiences at the Feitian School of Arts and express gratitude towards the Shen Yun Performing Arts group.

In 2016, at the age of 14, Tai Hong was admitted to the Feitian School of Arts. He recalls, “It was a beautiful place. When I first went there, I was amazed. The campus was surrounded by mountains and water, with willow trees by the lake, temples, pagodas, creating a poetic scene, like what ancient literati depicted in their poems.”

Tai Hong introduced that life at the school was very fulfilling. From Monday to Friday, there were cultural classes covering mandatory subjects such as English, math, and science, as well as extra classes like Chinese, Chinese history, and Chinese classical dance, requiring understanding of characteristics of each dynasty, and also learning about Greek and ancient Roman history.

In the afternoons, there were dance classes, including Chinese classical dance, blanket exercise, or folk dances. In the evenings, they would practice or review cultural classes. Extracurricular activities included basketball, table tennis, and even billiards.

“As students, our main task was to learn and improve our dance skills.”

While Tai Hong had good physical condition, he was initially afraid of the pain when doing leg stretches. “Because dance is a form of physical expression, you must train your body to master it. I pushed myself to persevere and improve my flexibility,” he said.

Regarding allegations of student abuse by The New York Times, Tai Hong stated that it was simply “misleading”. “Those who learn dance know that whether it’s ballet, jazz, or other styles, actors have to undergo hard work, sweating, tears, pain, and rigorous training to achieve results.”

He mentioned the fundamental leg stretching exercises, saying, “No matter which part of the body you stretch, there will be soreness since muscles are being stretched. Medically speaking, there may be some micro tears, invisible to the naked eye, that will heal on their own. The more you stretch, the more flexible and resilient you become.”

“Dance performers all have experiences of injuries. During Feitian training, teachers would advise us to take it easy if injured and wait until fully recovered before resuming classes. During performances, if someone gets seriously injured, that actor would be asked not to perform, and another actor would fill in or the formation would be adjusted to address the vacancy.”

“One time, I saw an actor during a performance tumbling and twisting his ankle. We were quite worried about his injury. The troupe leader and teacher approached him and asked if he could continue. He said he didn’t know. The leader immediately asked him to rest. That day, he didn’t perform flips or high difficulty moves on stage. A few days later, his foot had recovered.”

Tai Hong said, “Many of our teachers graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy, and their training during childhood compared to Feitian was much tougher. One teacher had a background in opera singing, and he said they were trained through physical discipline by their teachers back in China.” In Tai Hong’s experience, the environment at Feitian was relaxed, “Teachers wouldn’t force you; at most, they would say: either practice or don’t.”

“Of course, we all work hard to improve our dance skills. Soon, Tai Hong became one of the more flexible students in the class. After two years of rigorous training, he was selected to participate in performance internships.

After entering the Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe for internships, Tai Hong described his relationship with the other actors as being like brothers, taking care of each other. “Whatever we do, we do it together, whether it’s setting up the stage, props, managing stage equipment, and more.”

The experience during internship performances was “very joyful, almost like a vacation” for Tai Hong. “Time passed meaningfully with cultural studies, one day off during a week-long performance, where the troupe takes us sightseeing in the city or shopping.”

Additionally, accommodations and meals were arranged, transportation like flights and buses were taken care of. “As long as we focused on our learning and performance, everything else was handled. Later, I realized that the working procedures of Shen Yun differed from other performing companies. Actors in other companies manage their own matters, including hotel expenses and transportation costs, whereas Shen Yun oversees everything.”

Tai Hong stated, “Shen Yun takes excellent care of all actors. They emphasize collective improvement, where all members of the troupe elevate together.”

“In most dance companies, actors aim to excel individually, hoping to reach leading positions. But within Shen Yun, we support each other. While focusing on self-improvement, we also help and encourage others to improve.”

On stage, whether playing a soldier or a scholar, Tai Hong immerses himself into different character traits and fully embodies the storyline. Playing a guard requires conveying masculinity while maintaining seriousness without aggressive tendencies, portraying a sense of patriotism. When playing a scholar, there is a need for elegance, with slightly softer movements.

During Mongolian dance performances, Tai Hong imagines himself on a vast grassland, embodying the characteristics of a robust man. “Through history classes, I learned about Mongolians living on the grasslands, drinking, horse-riding, free-spirited, and masculine. I realized that this is the broad-minded feeling men should have. I learned that the heart should be open, just like the Mongolians who shrug off minor incidents with a simple tap on the shoulder, ‘Ah, it’s nothing!'”

As an actor, regardless of the situation, one must present their best self to the audience. Tai Hong recalls a performance in 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic when many people were hesitant to go out, resulting in low theater attendance.

“During a performance in Florida, our troupe leader told us: no matter the audience size, we must perform earnestly. When the curtains opened, we saw that the theater, which could seat thousands, was only filled with a few hundred spectators. Despite the empty seats, Shen Yun’s mission is to showcase genuine traditional Chinese culture.

“We must cherish the audience, cherish the opportunity, and perform even more diligently.” After the performance, they received feedback from the audience, with some saying: “In these difficult times, watching Shen Yun gave me hope.”

“No matter how much we endure, it’s worth it because we bring hope to people. Every time we take a bow, I see many audience members standing and applauding, smiling towards us or waving. I am always moved by these gestures.”

Following the conclusion of the 2020 tour, Shen Yun halted performances due to pandemic restrictions. Tai Hong, by then focusing on high school studies, left Feitian and proceeded to university.

“Having learned perseverance and resilience at Feitian, and having participated in touring performances, I found that no matter the difficulty, tasks felt relatively straightforward. With willpower and persistence, any task can be done well. When I entered university, everything seemed much easier; I had energy in classes and quickly completed assignments after class,” he said.

“Thanks to the invaluable lessons and life skills taught at Feitian, like time management, I have maintained a routine where I set daily schedules upon waking up, making it possible to effectively complete numerous tasks and have a fulfilling day without wasting time.”

Following assessments, Tai Hong obtained qualifications as a teacher at the Shen Yun Training Center, assisting young children aspiring to pursue a dance career in establishing a solid dance foundation.

The experiences at Feitian have left an everlasting impact on him, providing him with “unforgettable moments of happiness.”