(Clearwisdom.net) We are young Dafa practitioners who are members of the Toronto Lotus Arts Group. In the beginning, the purpose of establishing this group was to use the art form of dance to validate Dafa, clarify the truth, and to showcase how wonderful Dafa is. Through these four years of validating Dafa and saving sentient beings, whether in the area of cultivation or dance, we all showed great improvements. In the beginning, we used the form of dance and exercise demonstrations to tell people about the wonderfulness of Dafa and the persecution in China. Gradually, the number of events increased and their scale became bigger. From our participating in small community events to participating in the NTDTV Global Chinese New Year Gala, we became more mature. We realized that dancing and cultivation are closely related. Only when we do well the three things Teacher requires us to do, will we have significant improvement in our performances.

When learning the dances, we not only learn the movements and the basic techniques, but we also learn the real meaning behind the dances. That is why we always remind ourselves that we should have righteous thoughts, and that we dance to save sentient beings. Because of this thought, our dances really served this purpose. Of course, there is a lot of interference, but through group sharing, we all can elevate our xinxing and overcome the obstacles. For example, just before the Gala, one practitioner was hit by a car. Her injuries were severe. It seemed as though she couldn’t go onstage any time soon. Although her leg was swollen to the point that she couldn’t even walk, she still continued to come to dance practice. Sometimes she would cry out in pain. We would then send forth righteous thoughts for her and help her. Whether she could overcome this tribulation was a test for her and the entire group. We cleared our minds. In our hearts, we told ourselves that we believe in Teacher, in Dafa, and that we will overcome this tribulation. On the day of the performance, that practitioner’s performance on stage won the applause of the entire audience and fellow practitioners.

Practices are very tiring, and one can injure oneself easily. Sometimes, it hurts so badly that we can’t walk normally. Sometimes when our human thoughts emerge, we will have thoughts of quitting. However, we encourage each other, and share based on the Fa. No matter how tired we are, we will still endure to that moment when the teacher announces, "Class is dismissed."

None of us started learning dance at a young age. Nonetheless, we had to achieve a high level in a short period of time in order to take part in the Global Chinese New Year Gala. Whether in terms of physical hardships or xinxing, the test is big. Teacher said, "matter and mind are one and the same."

We realized that as Dafa practitioners, in order to improve our skills, we have to upgrade ourselves through cultivation. However, at times when we did not do very well, we would complain secretly or cry when stretching our legs. The principles Teacher taught us are not only compassionate instructions but are also a powerful force that push us forward step by step.

In this cultivation environment of dance, our attachments to showing off or self-pity decreased greatly. We can truly accomplish the task of saving sentient beings Teacher gave us with an open heart. Although we are not professional dancers, through these few years of cultivation, we have been able to present ourselves to the public like the purest lotus flowers rising from the mud, standing tall and beautiful.

There’s a connection between our cultivation on-stage and off-stage. The cooperative and purely compassionate environment that we have created in our daily lives through studying the Fa and upgrading ourselves is manifested on-stage. In the beginning, we only realized that dancing is a way of showing people the wonderfulness of Dafa. So that is why we only practice and rehearse when there are events to be attended. Right now, however, we all know that dance is a cultivation path that we must walk through righteously and that it is a righteous weapon Teacher bestowed upon us. Teacher mentioned in "Teaching the Fa at the City of Los Angeles":

We realized that this is our responsibility, we are rectifying humankind’s art forms, and we are using the language of dance to validate Dafa. We are also showing people examples of genuine beauty and compassion, so that they can realize how great and benevolent Dafa truly is from the bottom of their hearts.

Experiences from Our Participation in the Global Chinese New Year Gala

We first participated in the annual Global Chinese New Year Gala in 2004. The 2006 Gala was a big tour covering more than a dozen cities. More importantly, we truly realized the importance of the Galas in the process of Fa-rectification.

The 2006 Gala tour was the first time any of us participated in a touring performance. During the tour, we experienced a lot of tests of xinxing, but we also had many great experiences. In each city we traveled to we faced many different tests. This included where we stayed, the practitioners we worked with, unsatisfactory ticket sales, as well as the tight schedule planned for us. Through the whole process, all kinds of tests appeared, testing our hearts in every situation. In some of the cities we went to, we had multiple performances right after each other. After a whole day of dancing we were worn out completely and after only a few hours of sleep, we had to head off to the next city. Sometimes, as a result of tight schedules, we could only eat a piece of bread or an apple for breakfast. However, in each city we went to, local practitioners always treated us with great hospitality. They were worried that we would be too tired, so they always prepared a lot of great food. Staring at these mouth-watering delicacies, our appetites increased greatly. We always forgot that we had one or more performances waiting for us and that we must be aware of our figures. Sometimes, it wasn’t until after the pictures came out that we realized, "Wow, how chubby we had become."

The dress rehearsals were the worst part because they took a long time and were very tiring. It is often that right after the dress rehearsal, we go into the preparation for the real show. Thus, we had very little time to rest. There was hardly any time for studying the Fa and doing the exercises together as a group. But during the day we would find opportunities ourselves to study the Fa or do the exercises. A lot of times, we slacked off as a result of our attachment to comfort and laziness. Thus we wasted a lot of time and, thinking back on those experiences, we feel very regretful. If we can all upgrade ourselves constantly as diligent practitioners, then there will be no doubt that the Gala would be even more successful. Sometimes we felt very frustrated, but our mission is to show the audience the wonderfulness of Dafa through these performances. Thus we realized the importance of the performances and often reminded each other of this.

A large number of the performers were non-practitioners and this often made it difficult for us. They did not understand fully the importance of the Gala and the reason why we were putting so much effort into the performances. A lot of the times many of them were more focused on their personal interests such as wanting to go out and explore the cities, celebrating after each show late at night, and even finding time to relax when we had to follow such a tight schedule. However, when we had group exercises, all of them would come to learn and were able to do the exercises with us.

The first few shows in Boston and New York were very nerve-wracking for us. The dances we had this year required more skills than the dances we had done before. There was also much interference from the old forces during the Gala tour. Some performers became unwell right before we started our tour and during the tour. In some of the performances there were mistakes with the tech crew, such as the lightning and stage set-up, not to mention some of the mistakes we made on-stage as well. Often the attachment to fear would surface. Many of our fellow dancers, after finding out that the costumes required earrings, did not have their ears pierced until just before the gala. Many of them were terrified because they had to take the earrings off so soon after the piercing and thought it would be a problem. Many were worried, terrified of the pain and the chances of being infected. Despite our seeing bloody earlobes during every single performance and after shedding many tears, we were able to let go of our fear and made it through with no problems at all.

Clarifying the Truth to Our Schools

The majority of us are high school students, thus, our participation in the Gala requires the approval of our schools for time off. Taking time off school is problematic because there will be classes missed and the tour happened to be during an exam period. Especially since many of us face the pressure of moving on to university next year, we felt strong anxiety. In the beginning, some practitioners were worried that it would be hard to take so many days off school, worried that it would be hard to catch up on missed lessons and thus our marks would be affected. However, as Dafa practitioners, we must make Dafa a priority. All of humankind came here for Dafa, and it is our responsibility to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. No matter where we are, Dafa practitioners must be good people under any circumstances; therefore, we must balance well our performances and our schoolwork, and do both well. That is why many of us clarified the truth to our teachers and fellow classmates, telling them the importance of the Gala and why we must participate. Eventually, our teachers became aware of the persecution in China, as well as the wonderfulness of Dafa. In one school, the principal and the guidance councilor drafted a letter to every teacher, asking them to allow this practitioner to get the homework beforehand or complete it after the tour. Before the practitioner left for the tour, the guidance councilor told her: "This performance is very important, so don’t worry about your classes. Not many people have opportunities like this, to go on tours and perform all over the place. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so do well on you performances first. This school will always be here." Through this experience, this practitioner realized that as long as we place Dafa in our hearts and have strong righteous thoughts, Teacher would help us. We also realized that we must clarify the truth to our schools thoroughly, because when they truly understand it, people will make way for Dafa.

To help our teachers and classmates learn more about Dafa, many practitioners invited them to see the gala performances. They all gave very positive comments and said that they have seen real Chinese culture through such a fabulous show. A Mandarin teacher at one of the practitioners’ school changed his mentality about Dafa completely after seeing the show. In the past, he never wanted to listen to the truth. After seeing the performance, he told this practitioner, "It was so beautiful!" He then wrote a letter to the practitioner’s mom. He wrote in his letter:

One day, he even told the practitioner that he wants to learn Dafa, and he finished watching the DVD of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. After the tour, many performers gave out gala DVDs to their teachers and friends, and they all said that it was beautiful. Many students also claimed that they will definitely go see the Gala next year and they will bring more friends with them.

Through these couple years of performing, we all realized our destiny. We thank our most benevolent Teacher for your compassionate strengthening and encouragement that helped us to do well. We will work hard to be more diligent and walk our path well.