Memories That Continue to Inspire Me

My name is Mingye Liu, I’m a dance educator and former Shen Yun dancer. In this blog I discuss memories from my Shen Yun days that continue to inspire me even years after parting with the company.

In his famous quote, W. Clement Stone says, “Aim for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” However, perspective is important. How far is far enough? And how high up are the stars?

Sometimes, one can learn quite a lot of things from those around them that serve to change one’s perspective. I wrapped up my career with Shen Yun in 2016 and became dance department head at a private arts high school, but the countless fond and inspiring memories I made during my time with the company have remained with me, serving as motivation and sources of strength.

As a dancer in the highly professional environment of Shen Yun Performing Arts, I not only felt compelled to work hard in order to keep up with the high company standards, but also to keep up with the amazing pool of talented dancers around me. I had always considered myself a hard worker since childhood, but during my time with Shen Yun, I was often inspired by those around me who, despite their natural talent, worked even harder and had higher standards than I did.

Since my early days with the company, I had designed a personal practice routine for myself and kept up with it nearly every day, almost without exception. After classes and rehearsals, I would stay behind and practice, often not leaving the studio until 11 PM. I felt I was working pretty hard and doing all that I could to be my best, but one day when I finished for the night, I happened to notice the lights were still on in another studio. I took a curious look and was surprised to see a few dancers still in the middle of their own individual practice sessions.

Their practice routines didn’t just last one or two days, but remained almost as consistent as my own, and they ended their self-practice later and worked more systematically than I did. I was inspired and decided to rearrange my schedule to include practice time before and after lunch and dinner, as well as before classes and rehearsals. Such a degree of dedication may seem excessive to a casual bystander, but due to our passion for classical Chinese dance and a profound sense of responsibility to the world class company we were so fortunate to perform with, it all felt like just part of the assignment for my fellow dancers and me. After all, Shen Yun performs on the world’s best stages, so we looked upon those opportunities with a sense of pride and care.

Performing with such a dedicated high-level group of artists meant it was only natural that, just as I was feeling complacent with my new and improved workout schedule, I’d once again be humbled and inspired. One day after tumbling class, I grabbed my gear and was about to head out when I noticed that another dancer seemed determined to continue tumbling, despite the highly demanding class we’d just finished. He was breathing hard and looked very tired, but continued to repeatedly practice his tumbling routines. When I asked what his goal was, he simply said that since tour was starting in a few weeks, he wanted to condition his body to a higher degree. The purpose of pushing himself so hard was to simulate the fatigue we’d typically experience towards the end of an intensive dance in which we’d still need to execute challenging, high-level tumbling routines.

His simple but powerful words resonated in my mind. It was clear his sense of responsibility dwarfed my own. Inspired once again, I modified my practice routine over the weeks prior to tour to incorporate tumbling. This allowed me to perform over a thousand repetitions of my own tumbling routines, to ensure that I would also be able to present my best to our audiences, whether it be the first show or the hundredth.

But inspiration wasn’t limited to the area of technical skills—even in terms of personal character, my fellow dancers continued to amaze and inspire me. One time during tour, a dancer lost his wallet and luggage, leaving him in a difficult situation, as tour was nowhere near close to completion. Seeing his plight, a few other dancers stepped forth to help him cover the costs of buying basic necessities, new clothes, makeup, and dance gear. I took in this display of kindness, quietly making a promise to also help those around me if I were presented with the opportunity. A few weeks later, I indeed received a chance, and I helped another dancer out of a bind by covering the cost of something he couldn’t afford at the time.

My time at Shen Yun was transformative and educational in many ways. Almost every day, I witnessed actions taken by those around me that taught me more about life and elevated both my professional and personal standards. Now, as a dance educator, those experiences continue to guide my actions while working with students, even many years after leaving the company.

Dance is a medium through which I help students understand how perseverance and resilience allow one to overcome individual limits and weaknesses to reach greater artistic heights. Kindness increases the brilliance of artistic expression, allowing us to touch the hearts of the audience. When extrapolated beyond dance, one can use perseverance and resilience to overcome adversities in life, whereas kindness can help build new relationships or strengthen existing ones in both social and work environments.

I hope to not just teach my students dance, but to instill in them the qualities I witnessed among my fellow Shen Yun dancers—I believe this can take them far in society and life. The lessons I learned during my time as a Shen Yun dancer have paved the way for me to inspire those who come after, so they will also aim for the moon and travel among the stars.