Recently, my mother and I had the good fortune to see the Chinese dance troupe, Shen Yun, perform at the Rochester Auditorium Theatre. If you get the chance to see it at any point in the future, please do– we were gasping and clapping the entire way through. Filled with acrobatic dance numbers and interspersed with opera and instrumental exhibitions, and featuring a particularly interesting use of a projection screen, audiences of every age and temperament can enjoy this

It was this show that inspired my post on tonal languages, but I couldn’t neglect the main focus of the show: the dance. According to the hosts, many of the world’s flips and tumbles were invented by ancient Chinese dancers, and that piqued my curiosity.

Here is a video that will give you a taste of what I saw, including a history lesson about why they perform around the world but not in China.