Imagine yourself entranced by a dream world, where exquisite dancing expresses timeless stories, and the profound culture of China is shared through a masterful blend of Chinese and Western music…this is the world of Shen Yun.

“Shen Yun” is a Chinese word that can be translated as “the beauty of heavenly beings dancing.” This name is meant to express what Shen Yun aspires to achieve: an experience so beautiful and joyous that it evokes a sense of the heavens. With vividly animated digital backdrops that transport you through time and space, Shen Yun will delight and mystify you. You might see fairies leave a heavenly palace to dance among the clouds, or perhaps a dragon soaring majestically above the waves. The Shen Yun orchestra is a perfect harmony of the East and West, presenting you with the best of the greatest classical music traditions.

Shen Yun is in Cincinnati for just three shows, February 27-28. For tickets contact the Aronoff Center for the Arts, or go to ShenYun.com/Cincinnati. Don’t miss out on this stunning and magical production!

Lauren Hill wanted to live until Christmas. And that day has come and gone. Lauren is still fighting, despite her diagnosis.
Lauren, 19, may have terminal brain cancer, but she also has a terminal positive attitude. By working with Hospice of South Central Indiana, she’s been able to stay on her feet and spend the holiday season with her family, which was her ultimate Christmas wish.

Lauren’s fight to live has been nothing short of an inspiration to the entire Tri-State area. Watching her play basketball for the College of Mount St. Joseph (and become an honorary coach), helping her raise money for cancer research and treatment, cheering her on from the sidelines…it’s brought this community together in ways not often seen in this day and age.

When Lauren was diagnosed with DIPG, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (a terminal brain cancer), about 14 months ago, doctors didn’t think she’d make it to December. It’s a testament to Lauren’s strong will and determination to make a difference that she ‘s still with us today. Instead of letting the disease beat her, she struck out to beat the disease – at least long enough to make her mark. She’s raised close to $750,000 for DIPG research, and has inspired many, many people to follow in her footsteps and make a difference. For example, The Cincinnati Rollergirls and Battering Rams recently held a private scrimmage in Lauren’s honor, and made her an honorary Rollergirl with the name “Ginger Snap”. The event raised money for Lauren’s charity, The Cure Starts Now. Nick Goepper, Olympic Bronze Medalist Snowboarder, held an event with Perfect North Slopes called “Rail Jam” to help raise funds as well.

Lauren’s fight won’t last forever, but her legacy will. Watching her living her life to the fullest extent she can will continue to be an inspiration and motivation to the entire Cincinnati area.

Yes, mummies! Lots of them. In fact, you will find the world’s largest collection of mummies ever assembled, now at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

The nationally acclaimed Mummies of the World: The Exhibition has been called “magical and mythical” by the New York Times. More than 1.2 million visitors have experienced the exhibition, which includes mummies and artifacts from different eras and cultures dating from millennia past. The exhibit features both naturally and intentionally preserved mummies

The collection includes more than 150 specimens and artifact objects associated with the preserved bodies, including 45 human and animal mummies. The exhibit delves into the scientific study of mummies and provides a window into the lives of ancient peoples who practiced the “art” of mummification. Mummies and artifacts from the burial process are from South America, Europe and ancient Egypt. Amulets, statuary and tools used for mummification are part of the exhibit.

Attendees will see advances made in the scientific methods used to study mummies, including computer tomography (CT), analysis of ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating. The exhibit explains what a mummy is, and how mummification occurs, both through intentional and natural processes. Mummies have been found in bogs, caves, cellars, deserts, crypts, pyramids, and in environments all over the globe.

The exhibition offers visitors state-of-the-art multimedia and hands-on interactive stations, along with 3D animations, providing opportunity to learn how bodies are preserved in natural environments and by human assistance. An interactive world map shows the locales and environments where mummies have been found.

Mummies of the World is an incredible glimpse into the fascinating mummification process that occurs in nature and the history of science, anatomy and medicine across the globe. Douglass W. McDonald, president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center states, “We are so happy to bring this top-notch traveling exhibition to our region inviting visitors to come face-to-face with mummies presented from so many distinctive parts of the world.”

Among specimens are: the Nes-Hor and Nes-Min priests, who lived in the Ptolemaic period (225-195 BC); animal mummies of Egypt, dating to 325 BC; the Vac Mummies, a mummified family from Hungary, believed to have died from tuberculosis; Baron Von Holz, a German noble found tucked away in a family crypt of a 14th century castle, he wearing fine leather boots for the occasion; and the MUMAB, aka the Maryland Mummy, a modern-day “ancient mummy,” created by scientists in 1994, using the same methods and techniques as Egyptians did more than 3,000 years ago.

“Most people think mummies come from Egypt and are wrapped, but mummies come from all over the world,” stated Marcus Corwin, of American Exhibitors, Inc. “The exhibition is…providing insight into the lives and cultures of these ancient peoples. Inside every mummy is a story waiting to be told, and Mummies of the World is here to tell those stories.”

Mummies of the World will be on display throughout December and into 2015. Cincinnati is the 11th stop on an American tour of the exhibit.

Turn to the Inspiration Department and you will be hard pressed to find anybody more inspiring than the tandem of little Leah Still and her super-sized dad, Devon.

Leah, many know, is the diminutive darling attempting to win the fight against cancer, specifically 4th stage neuroblastoma. She’s undergone chemotherapy and surgery to shrink and remove the cancer, respectively, and is in stasis as more chemo and stem cell therapy go forward.

The father of this smiling, positive, 4-year-old, is Devon Still. He played collegiately at Penn State, and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 53rd overall pick in 2012. He is a defensive tackle, and anything but diminutive, at 6-foot 5-inches, 310 pounds.
Leah’s cancer was discovered June 2 this year, after she complained of pain in her hip during a dance recital. That diagnosis changed everything. The prognosis was 50-50 that Leah would survive. Dad Devon had to explain all this to his daughter. And he had to rally her to face the disease and “do whatever she could to beat it.”

“She’s a fighter,” Still said, and he added that as a parent you expect your child to look up to you. In Leah’s case, the dad found himself looking up to his tiny daughter, and her can-do determination to overcome the nightmare of pediatric cancer.

Leah Still’s condition has sparked national attention, and much more. Devon Still’s NFL status has produced a remarkable chain of events—and money—in the fight against pediatric cancer. For starters, the Bengal franchise kept Still on the team’s healthcare insurance as he focused on Leah more than football. Also, the Bengals pledged all proceeds from the sale of Still’s #75 jersey to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (to date netting over $1 million).

Sean Payton, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, personally bought 100 of the jerseys in an act of support. Patriots’ owner, Robert Kraft, donated $25,000 to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, as well as having the Patriot cheerleaders don Still jerseys during the Sunday Night Football game with the Bengals. Other players and teams have contributed as well. And Ellen DeGeneres featured Devon on her TV variety show, Ellen, in late October, giving him a $10,000 check for the fight against pediatric cancer.

At this writing, prospects look bright for both Leah and her dad. The hope is that Leah is cancer-free and will stay that way. And dad Devon has been taken from the Bengals practice squad and elevated to the 53-man roster of the team. He has played in recent games, and is very probably looking at football from a different perspective these days. The game has to be easier than facing up to and beating pediatric cancer. Key Magazine salutes Leah, Devon, and all who have stepped up to help in the fight against the disease.