Mr. Cao recalled that last year, he was fortunate enough to be invited by an official from the British cultural department to watch a Shen Yun show in London.
"It was an enjoyable and meaningful experience," he said. "The show was excellent, the content rich, the stage effects were amazing, unique and it was a large scale one-of-its-own-kind arts event."
He also said the performances had artistic and spiritual charm that struck a chord with the audience -- the highest recognition in the arts. He recommended that more people come to watch the show for themselves and experience the energy emanating from the stage.
Mr. Cao is currently a lead dancer with the UK's Birmingham Royal Ballet. He was awarded the Gold Medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition (touted as the Olympics of ballet) and is known as 'China's ballet prince.' He was also the lead actor in the movie Mao's Last Dancer, playing the role of Chinese ballet dancer, Li Cunxin.
'No other show can compare'
Mr. Cao said the content of Shen Yun's performance was rich. "It is very encompassing, large scale, and in a class of its own. It is an artistic feast, not seen in other shows. It's unlike the content of ordinary shows, that are all the same.”
He said Shen Yun reflected the charm and spirit of traditional Chinese culture. "It is deeply meaningful."
"It is a production of such a large scale attracting so many audiences and has won the hearts of so many people. It goes to show how successful the performances are,” Mr. Cao said.
“What is most unusual is that every year the shows have a new program. It shows (the company) has strong creativity and [is] very effective. It is a great achievement, a great thing that Shen Yun was formed and developed overseas and able to promote traditional Chinese culture on the global stage."
'Excellent technical skills, beautiful and harmonious'
Integral to Shen Yun are exquisitely costumed dancers, choreographed to portray ancient legends, folk traditions and modern day stories of astounding courage.
Mr. Cao said the skills of the performers in Shen Yun shows were extremely advanced, performing many highly difficult technical moves. "The dances are beautiful, the whole stage effect is excellent, unique. Audience members kept applauding during the show.”
He added: “The coordination amongst dancers is excellent, hence, the dances presented are very harmonious and graceful. This aspect is especially rare and precious.”
Mr. Cao has a busy performing schedule, yet every year he will return to mainland China either to perform or visit relatives. He said, “I know that many companies, both within China and outside China, feature large scale dances, but they could be discordant because everyone wants to show off oneself, therefore on the whole, the dances don't seem to be that harmonious.”
'Demonstrating the highest realm in arts'
Mr. Cao said that Shen Yun show is extremely moving and the techniques displayed are a necessary foundation. "But what's most important is the inner charisma of the art. The inner empathy and joy shown by audiences is the best illustration of this intrinsic quality.
“Classical arts have profound connotations hence the more we know about it, the more we feel that what we know is not enough.
"There is a saying in the world of dance: 'You see a performer on stage, although he does not display any technique, however the audience cannot take their eyes off him. From the time the performer comes onstage, he has deeply captivated the audience, every movement, every dance, even if it is just a simple movement, captivates the audience.'
"This kind of inner charisma, the power of the arts is the highest realm a performer can ever hope to achieve. This is not only determined by dance technique, more importantly, it is driven by the performer's inner cultivation, level of knowledge, character, virtue, personal experience and so on. To a performer, these are the sources and motivation for creation and expression.”
Mr. Cao said that for any performer, it is a great challenge to improve one's dance technique and quality. "However, it is an even greater challenge to be able to arouse joy and empathy in the audience, to touch people.”
'Shen Yun inspires the performing arts circle'
Mr. Cao said that Shen Yun has given the arts community inspiration. "Watching Shen Yun is just like embarking on time travel, reflecting on one's life and artistic experience," he said.
“We regard dance as a means of livelihood, hence, we don't have the same passion as Shen Yun performers. Their passion for the arts and for bringing the beauty of arts to audiences are really touching. We lack this because we treat dance as a job.”
Mr. Cao recommends that people come watch Shen Yun for themselves and personally experience the energy emitted. He said, “If you watch the [promo] video, you can only see the technique and physical movements. However, seeing it live, you are able to experience the strong artistic impact, the infectiousness displayed by the shows. That kind of internal charm, as well as the energy transmitted by the performance, can only be experienced from watching a live show."
About Chi Cao
Mr. Cao was born in Beijing into an artistic family, and started learning ballet at a young age. While studying dance at the Beijing Dance Academy, he won a prize in the Prix De Lausanne International Ballet Competition, thus earning the reputation as “China's ballet prince.”
In February 1994, Mr. Cao further studied at England's Royal Ballet academy. In July 1995, he graduated with top honors and joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet Company becoming its artistic director, and choreographered for the ballet Beauty and the Beast. He became one of David Bintley's top students.
In 1998, Mr. Cao took part in the ballet equivalent of the Olympics -- the Varna international Ballet Competition -- and won the Gold Prize. In 2002, he was promoted to the role of principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet Company.
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