Professional Development Program on Traditional Chinese Culture

BACKGROUND

Many in the West have been fascinated by China's long history and rich culture. For 5,000 years, Chinese values were shaped by a diverse legacy of heroes and myths, and these stories still resonate today. With our increasingly interconnected world, understanding the true China has never been more intriguing and important.

Inspired by Shen Yun Performing Arts, as well as years of hosting Chinese culture workshops for professionals, schools, and local communities, we have designed a Professional Development Program on Traditional Chinese Culture.

This program fulfills the requirements for the National Core Arts Standards and the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Social Studies, and is endorsed by the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).

Who should attend?
1. Educators from K-12 and at college level
2. Anyone who wishes to learn more about this ancient civilization and get familiarized with the customs, values, and perspectives of Eastern culture. The program will also help you understand the intent and meaning in classical Chinese dance, music and literature, and its impact on today's China and the world at large.


LEARN FROM AND EXPERIENCE ONE OF THE GREAT ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

By participating in this program, you will receive four hours of professional development training on traditional Chinese culture. The program will include two parts:

Part I: A Luncheon Workshop with Experts in Chinese Culture:

A unique feature of Chinese civilization is that its history has been recorded and passed down uninterrupted for 5,000 years. This multimedia workshop walks you through significant aspects of China's authentic culture and its influence on the world.

Premium space for the workshop

Deli Buffet Lunch


Part II: Live Performance from Shen Yun Performing Arts at NJPAC:

A 120-minute performance that brings this culture to life with Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world's premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun's performance recounts timeless legends, bygone heroes, literary classics, and more. Every dance embodies and celebrates the virtues that were at the heart of Chinese civilization for thousands of years: loyalty, courage, compassion, piety, and veneration for the divine. To learn more, click here.

Shen Yun Performing Arts

A Shen Yun show


What you will learn in this program:

  • The essence of Chinese culture: Philosophy, Science and a different way of life

    This program will help you analyze how China affects the global landscape and will highlight key events that influence our beliefs and decisions regarding China.

  • Chinese dance and music: A manifestation of civilization and morality

    This program will help you to recognize and interpret intent and meaning in artistic works, such as dance, music, attire, and literature.

  • Contemporary history of China: Its impact on Chinese society and the world

    This program will help you analyze how the second largest economy affects the global landscape and will highlight key events that influence our beliefs and decisions about current policy issues.

  • The revival of traditional Chinese cultural values: How would this impact the present regime in China and the rest of the world

    This program will showcase traditional values and how a cultural renaissance can affect both China and the rest of the world. The experience can help participants to be more civic minded, globally aware, and socially responsible.

About Shen Yun

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun is a private, nonprofit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Shen Yun is a magnificent name in Chinese that means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” Established in 2006, Shen Yun seeks to revive the authentic five-millennia-old Chinese civilization that thrived before communist rule. The company’s rich repertoire is drawn from historic Chinese legends, modern heroic tales, philosophy, universal themes, and the world around us.

  • A visually dazzling tour of 5,000 years of Chinese history and culture.

    -San Francisco Chronicle

  • The experience will be not just one of entertainment but one of self development, knowledge and learning.

    -David Sweet, Member of the Canadian Parliament

  • It’s good for the children, culturally. That’s why I wanted to bring them to see this, because you don’t have to go anywhere, and you still get to experience culture... It’s physical poetry. It’s poetry through dancing.

    -Victoria Chang, award-winning poet and writer

  • I feel very grateful to have had this vision of a whole other side of a culture that I thought did not exist anymore in China.

    -Martha Andresen, Professor of English for 30 years, a Crystal Quill Award winner for her Shakespearean scholarship.

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