Hear Me Out–Shen Yun Stars are the Kind of Celebrity You Hope For

Celebrities are people you want to admire. Unfortunately, most celebrities these days end up in the news for…less-than-admirable behaviour.

As a dance teacher at a school in Toronto, I am responsible for lots of young kids and I hope they can look up to stars who are also great role models.

To me, the stars of Shen Yun are my ideal type of celebrity. I’m going to share a few personal stories that illustrate how they’re ACTUALLY great people.

Angelia Wang and the Toe Socks

Angelia Wang has been a principal dancer with Shen Yun since 2007. She’s been featured on the global Shen Yun poster seven times and has the most hardcore work ethic, amazing talent and leadership skills. But in this story, I want to share how she’s also a kind and thoughtful person.

I joined my first practicum with Shen Yun during the 2014 tour. I was seventeen at the time, and it was a big moment for me. Your first tour can be a bit overwhelming, as you suddenly have to work with new people, learn tons of new dances and dance styles, get ready to travel, and more.

One day, as I was standing in a common area talking to a friend, I mentioned I liked toe socks but I didn’t know where to get them in America. Angelia was standing nearby, and suddenly commented, “You like toe socks? I can get you a pair from Asia!”

This took me by surprise. I had never spoken to Angelia before and was not even in the same touring company as her! She had no reason to show me this kindness.

“Really?” I said.

“Yes!” she said, “I’ll get you a nice one.”

“Oh, thank you!” I was starstruck. I had no idea she was such a nice person!

Time passed, and rehearsals and tour flew by. I explored cities in Europe I’d never been to before and danced in front of thousands.

At the end of our five-month tour, we returned to our base in New York, ready to take a break and go on vacation. One day, I was in the common area again, and Angelia came out and waved me over, then handed me a pair of colourful and cute toe socks. She hadn’t forgotten her promise!

“Here you go!” she said.

“Thank you so much!” I said gratefully.

I carefully put them into my drawer, and happily wore them when I felt like it. It’s been over ten years, and I still have them.

I still feel touched when I think about this story. Angelia didn’t know me, I wasn’t in her class, and she could have forgotten to buy them during tour or used the space in her suitcase for something else.

She brought me those toe socks all the way from Asia just to welcome and encourage me because I was new to Shen Yun. Actually, I saw for myself many times that these little acts of kindness and consideration weren’t unique to just one or two people, but were instead a common part of the social life and company culture of Shen Yun.

Michelle Lian and Two French Facial Products

Six years later, I had the fortune to be in the same class as a girl named Michelle Lian. I had been with her in the beginners’ class when we first came to Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, but after we joined different troupes, I hadn’t had much opportunity to talk to her.

Over the years, I watched proudly from a distance as Michelle become a principal dancer and won multiple gold awards in dance competitions. She even starred on the Shen Yun promotional poster in 2019.

However, during my last year in Shen Yun I was lucky enough to be in the same troupe as her, and I use the word lucky because Michelle is an EXTREMELY kind person.

Let me get into the story.

Basically, one week I had a particularly large workload and was balancing getting to know new classmates, learning new dances, editing a video, as well as completing the work that came with the final year of college. Needless to say, I was stressed out…and it caused me to grow two giant pimples on my face.

Ah, well.

I was planning to simply bluster through it and pretend nothing had happened, as there was much to get done and most people are pretty understanding about that kind of thing. But one evening, Michelle quietly came to my room and handed me two very nice French facial products.

“These are for you,” she said.

I was flabbergasted. TWO facial products? That were French? Keep in mind, the French make some of the best facial products in the world, and they are often expensive. I couldn’t believe someone would be so kind regarding such a small matter. She could have just given me a pimple sticker worth a couple of cents.

“Oh no! I can’t take them, that’s too much,” I said.

“No please! I’d like you to have them,” she insisted.

I tried to tell her I couldn’t accept such a generous gift, but she looked me firmly in the eyes, placed the products in my hands, and said, “Please take them.” I sensed deeply that she just wanted to show me support.

I was so touched. Like, extremely touched. I felt that it wasn’t even about the pimples. It was that she saw I was stressed, and in her own quiet and generous way was letting me know that she supported me fully, that she was there as a friend even though we had just started to get to know each other as team members. Michelle, from her heart, wanted to show compassion and friendship to me, to lighten the stress I was facing in my own life.

It’s been years since that evening, and I am still grateful. It’s hard to explain, but genuine kindness has a very powerful effect on the soul.

And it wasn’t just to me. Despite her young age, Michelle was one of the team leaders for the girls in our troupe and put a lot of effort into creating an environment that brought us together. She believed that even though we needed to work hard to bring the audience a top-quality performance (easier said than done), it was still important to have fun and be sisters.

One time, she brought all the girls in our class together, and we made mochi balls from scratch in the dorms. Another time, she got out her ukulele, and we all had a singing session. It was great.

I deeply appreciated that no matter how busy, tiring, stressful, or intense things got, she used her big heart to make things lighter and more enjoyable for others. It inspired me a lot in my own life, and I’m beyond positive that audiences all over the globe feel that compassion in her dance.

The girls making mochi balls. Michelle is in the front on the right.

Shen Yun Stars and Positive Inspiration

I hope these two stories gave you a small glimpse of what kinds of people Shen Yun stars are. These are just a few small snapshots, and there are countless other actions of kindness that they’ve shown others time and again.

For years and years, the dancers of Shen Yun have pushed through the significant challenges inherent in their craft to bring audiences the beauty of China’s history and the inspiring stories behind it. Audiences everywhere cry and laugh during performances and are touched by the dedication and compassion displayed by the performers onstage.

On a final note, one of my 8-year-old students came up to me the other day and asked me about one of her celebrities.

“Daniella, do you know Angelia Wang?”

I was so glad I could truthfully reply, “Angelia Wang is a lovely person. And you know what, I even have a pair of socks from her…”