Michelle Lian: Connecting Through Life-Affirming Dance

English text by June Fakkert

If you’ve ever had the experience of feeling deeply connected to someone or something, you know this can be life-changing.

For dancer Michelle Lian, there are times when she feels a deep, almost physical connection with her dance troupe. “When the connection is very strong, I feel like everybody’s heartbeat is together,” she told Elite Lifestyle Magazine.

Lian is a principal dancer with Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Based in New York, Shen Yun’s performance groups travel the globe giving over 450 performances yearly.

Born and raised in Taiwan, Lian said it was the beauty of the performances she saw as a young girl that inspired her to pursue a career in classical Chinese dance. “I watched a performance and I was very touched, excited, and felt very connected,” she said. And although there are plenty of challenges, she has found her career richly rewarding.

Traditional Dance, Unusual Role

Shen Yun is unique in the dance world. At a time when most ballet and Asian dance companies are incorporating modern elements into their shows, Shen Yun purposefully goes the other way, tapping the richness of China’s 5,000-year cultural legacy to bring forth universal truths, beauty, and a sense of awe for the divine.

“Shen Yun promotes the bright side,” Lian said. It’s a mission that really resonates with her.

One traditional element in performances is that male and female dancers have distinctly different qualities. Males dance with strength and speed. Females are gentle and graceful, using their hands and eyes to convey softness, Lian explained.

However, all rules have their exceptions. One year, Lian danced the part of the character Zhu Yingtai, the heroine of a great Chinese folktale. In this story, which is sometimes called the Chinese version of Romeo and Juliet, Zhu Yingtai begs her wealthy father to let her attend school. In some versions, he agrees and in some, he does not, but in any case, she finds a way to attend the academy disguised as a boy.

In ancient China, wealthy women were educated at home. Lian explained that Zhu Yingtai, not intent on pursuing a career, was driven by a yearning for greater knowledge.

At that time, during China’s Eastern Jin Dynasty, scholarly education placed a strong emphasis on moral teachings, and students would read and even memorize works of sages like Confucius and Lao Tzu. With this moral foundation, a scholar would then go on to serve society and shape its direction.

Although there were notable and well-educated women in Chinese history (the mother of Confucius, for example), for the most part women’s contributions were quiet. However, it was held that women were greatly responsible for upholding the morality of the country, as they influenced their husbands and children. High morality was essential to incurring divine favor for a dynasty, and thus a woman’s role was seen as critical and deeply appreciated.

In the classic story, Zhu Yingtai is on her way to attend the academy when she runs into a fellow student, Liang Shanbo. They quickly become close friends, inseparable in their studies, and eventually fall in love.

In the original tale, the story ends in tragedy, with the star-crossed lovers forced apart by Zhu Yingtai’s betrothal to a wealthy merchant. But Shen Yun reinterpreted the classic tale, giving it a beautiful, happy ending.

Lian said that dancing Zhu Yingtai as both a lady and man had some unexpected challenges. She found it easier to play the man. “My physical appearance is relatively tall and bulky,” she explained. (Although in this author’s opinion, tall and slender is a more apt description.)

When it came to playing Zhu Yingtai as a lady, Lian said her teacher had to coach her to be more feminine. She did this by changing how she thought about herself. “It’s not on a physical level; it’s more on a mental, spiritual level … It’s a turn of my notions,” she explained.

With this new image of herself, she was able to make her gestures “smaller and cuter,” she said. She said that in the end, she felt very connected to the character of Zhu Yingtai. “I felt like she was in me, like I was a part of history.”

History and Heart

Like Zhu Yingtai, Lian also has a yen for knowledge. In her spare time, she reads Chinese classics, like Dream of the Red Chamber, Journey to the West, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Reading these works is not only helpful professionally but also personally. “It’s very nourishing for my spirit,” she said.

Reading history gives her perspective, which she finds extremely valuable and especially so because she sees people of her generation succumb too readily to their own feelings. “They forget there is a bigger world out there,” she said.

Lian also said that she does her best not to get caught up in personal issues. “It’s not about myself, my feelings, my desires,” she said. And to dance classical Chinese dance professionally, it’s essential for dancers to have a handle on their emotions. This is because one of the key elements of classical Chinese dance is the concept of “yun,” which translates as “bearing.”

“Bearing emphasizes internal spirit, breath, intent, personal aura, and deep emotional expression. In essence, the spirit leads form, so that form is imbued with spirit,” the Shen Yun website explains. Thus, what’s inside a dancer—his or her emotions—will reflect in the performance. “In order to express yourself, you need to open your heart,” Lian said, explaining that she was very reserved before she took up dancing as a career.

And when asked how she deals with any exhaustion, she replied that everything worthwhile comes with dedication and hardship.

“It’s a part of something, a part of something you want to achieve.”