Jaling Chen
Principal Dancer
BIOGRAPHY
With Shen Yun Since: 2007
Jaling Chen tied for first place in New Tang Dynasty Television’s 2014 International Classical Chinese Dance Competition (adult female division), after winning second place in 2012, third place in 2010, and third place in the junior female division in 2009. She pursued advanced studies in classical Chinese dance at the New York-based Fei Tian Academy of the Arts and Fei Tian College.
Personally Speaking...
Chinese Name: Chen Jaling (陳佳伶 can also be spelled Jialing).
Meaning of Chinese given name: My auntie gave me this name. Jiā (佳) means good, and lín (伶) in ancient times meant someone who sings and dances, an artist.
Born in: Yunlin, Taiwan
Favorite color: Sky blue and white.
Best dance techniques: Jumping and flipping.
Favorite tour country: England and Switzerland in Europe; Japan and South Korea in Asia.
Warm-up method: Stretch, then do some fan shen techniques, then start jumping.
Favorite character to portray on stage: Lady Lin Chong. This was my first historic character, and I had to think a lot about how to portray her.
Favorite dance: Plum Blossom (2011).
Most memorable audience reaction: A few years ago, my friend watched the show in Taiwan. Afterwards, she told me she realized the meaning of life and that she wanted to help others more in the future.
Most challenging thing about tour: Treating every show as if it were my first.
Favorite drink: Mildly sweet jasmine tea.
Favorite hot drink: Hot honey water.
Movie genre: Historical, or any movie with a message or deeper meaning.
Favorite Chinese historical figure: Empress Zhangsun of the Tang Dynasty (長孫皇后). Even as empress, she treated her subjects respectfully, managed palace affairs very well, and brought up kids that weren’t her own. She also helped Emperor Tang Taizong a lot, giving him advice and helping him shoulder many responsibilities.
Hobbies: Ping-Pong and playing the erhu (a bit).
Wanted to be as a kid: Foreign ambassador or a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.
Dream vacation: Before I joined Shen Yun, I wanted to travel the world. Now, I’d like to visit any country with my family.
Most prized possession: A favorite book.
Decisive or fickle: Fickle.
If granted one wish, it would be…: To stay in Shen Yun forever and fulfill my tasks.

Angelia Wang
Principal Dancer

Melody Qin
Principal Dancer

Hsiao-Hung Lin
Principal Dancer

Evangeline Zhu
Principal Dancer

Michelle Lian
Principal Dancer

Piotr Huang
Principal Dancer

Jay Huang
Principal Dancer

Kenji Kobayashi
Principal Dancer

Benjamin Lee
Principal Dancer

Albert Yang
Principal Dancer

Jaling Chen
Principal Dancer

Elsie Shi
Principal Dancer

William Li
Principal Dancer

Miranda Zhou-Galati
Principal Dancer

Daoyong Zheng
Principal Dancer

Chad Chen
Principal Dancer

Monty Mou
Principal Dancer

Kaidi Wu
Principal Dancer

Jing Xian
Composer

Junyi Tan
Composer

Yungchia Chen
Choreographer

Michelle Ren
Choreographer

Guimin Guan
Tenor

Haolan Geng
Soprano

Tian Ge
Tenor

Qu Yue
Baritone

Min Jiang
Soprano

Rachael Yu Ming Bastick
Soprano

Yuan Ling
Soprano

Xiaochun Qi
Erhu

Lu Sun
Erhu

Milen Nachev
Conductor

Vardan Hakobyan
Conductor

Yuan Gao
Conductor

William Kuo
Conductor

Chia-Chi Lin
Concertmaster

Astrid Martig
Concertmaster

Fiona Zheng
Violin

Kaspar-Laurenz Martig
Trumpet

Aleksander Velichko
Bassoon

Pavlo Baishev
Trombone

Eric Robins
Trumpet

Vladimir Zemtsov
Trumpet

Chia-jung Lee
Flute

Yevgeniy Reznik
Clarinet

Alistair Crawford
Trombone

Linda Wang
Erhu

I-Chen Huang
Cello