LOS ANGELES—Some of us can see further than others, and Mother Tynnetta Muhammad may very well be one of them.

At the third showing of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ summer West Coast tour, during intermission, Mother Tynnetta Muhammad gave her thoughts and insights into the display of classical Chinese dance and music, surrounded by a contingent of happy people.

“I believe that movement and dance is part of nature, and produces the beauty and the harmony to keep our society at peace in the oneness, and the remembrance of the great power that is beyond us on this planet,” she says of the power of dance and the arts.

“And I think anything that demonstrates that in the form of dance and the form of music is absolutely the most important ingredient to bring about world peace today.”

Mother Muhammad is part of the Nation of Islam, and was married to its long-time leader Elijah Muhammad, who was a mentor to such figures as Malcolm X and the boxer Muhammad Ali.

The mission of Shen Yun is to revive traditional Chinese culture, along with the values that have been foundational to that ancient system, such as beauty, truth, and compassion.

Chinese culture, however, is not just in the past. Today, one of the main manifestations of Chinese culture is the spiritual practice Falun Gong, which in the late 1990s had an estimated 100 million practitioners in China. For the last 10 years, however, the practice has been brutally suppressed by the Chinese regime.

Two of the dances in Shen Yun depict the situation of Falun Gong in China today.

“I did hear about the movement in China and never thought I would have an opportunity to see an expression of the exercises [of Falun Gong] and the choreographed [dance] that I’m seeing today,” she said.

Mother Muhammad saw a poster for the show in Mexico, where she resides, and came to Los Angeles to “have this great opportunity” to see the show.

“I do believe, today, we have to speak to the issues that are affecting societies all over the world, and certainly we should be able to defend our right to believe in our own spirituality, and should not be in conflict with the governments of the world,” she said.

“I think it’s a message that the governments must begin to curb their appetite on exploitation of what the common beliefs of people are to connect to their spirituality,” Mother Muhammad said of the persecution of various spiritual and religious practices throughout the world.

The performances in Shen Yun draw on many aspects of China’s culture, including dances from various ethnic groups within and near China.

“I have a long-time relationship with Mongolia, so that impressed me when we had the dance from Mongolia,” she said of Chopstick Zest, a dance set in the plains of Mongolia.

All of the dances are set to live music performed by the Shen Yun orchestra, which has an orchestral format that combines traditional Chinese and classical Western instruments.

Mother Muhammad noted that the “music mostly impressed me because in my own composition works I combine the Western symphony orchestra along with traditional instruments, particularly from China, Mongolia, and from the Americas.”

“I do believe they’re doing a wonderful job,” she said of the orchestra.

“And I’m very impressed by the garments and the color combinations, and the backdrop of the scenery that come up with every single piece. I mean it’s extraordinary,” she commented.

In addition to the dance is a feast of color from both the vibrant, hand-crafted costumes that are unique to each performance, and the digital backdrop that sets a different scene for all of the dances.

“And the voices—everything is in perfect harmony,” Mother Muhammad said of the operatic singers interspersed between the dances. The singers perform original works in Chinese, with translations of the words in English projected on the digital backdrop.

Giving more general comments about the show, Mother Muhammad said: “I’m very much impressed by what I saw and hope to continue to see, and one day perhaps we’ll be able to visit China and maybe this curb of persecution will come to a climax very, very soon.”
Dancer Says Show Was ‘Divine’

Also in attendance with Mother Muhammad was Haniyyah Muhammad, a dancer with the Lula Washington Dance Theater.

“It was great, I love it,” she said of the dancing. “It was very clean, just beautiful, precise. Everyone was together, everyone was in unison—I wanted to look at everybody.”

Classical Chinese dance draws from China’s 5,000 years of culture, and has a rich realm of expressive possibility, allowing dancers to portray various characters and feelings.

Summing up the show, she said, “It was great, it was superb—divine.”

With reporting by New Tang Dynasty TV.

Shen Yun Performing Arts will perform at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion until July 11. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Original article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/38919/