(Clearwisdom.net) CLEVELAND, Ohio--A highly appreciative audience enthusiastically welcomed the return of Shen Yun Performing Arts to Cleveland on Saturday, May 29. Audience members in the full house at Playhouse Square repeatedly praised the artists with rounds of applause and loud exclamations of delight throughout the performances, giving the artists a long, standing ovation at the end.

Jung Jing, the publisher of Ohio Chinese American News, Inc.

Amongst the many delighted audience members was Jung Jing, the publisher of Ohio Chinese American News, Inc. Mr. Jung has been closely following the New York-based company's tour, with this being his fifth time to attend Shen Yun. He first saw the show in Detroit, Michigan, then in Cleveland, next Cincinnati, and, most recently, Columbus. Tonight he said, "I drove two and a half hours! I will drive two and a half hours back."

Mr. Jung explained why the show had so touched him and moved him to repeatedly attend. "What I see is that all those performers are the second generation. ... Shen Yun is an opportunity to enrich the Chinese culture here ... That's the reason I am here. I want to witness the growth of Chinese culture here."

"A beautiful way of expressing what is the soul"

Dr. Phil Belzunce, a psychologist, is also of Chinese heritage. He is from the Philippines and his great grandfather was Chinese. Because he feels connected to classical Chinese culture, he appreciated the show on a deep level and really loved it, describing it as "excellent!"

He was impressed by "everything, everything," and elaborated by saying, "The peacefulness, the joy, the flexibility, not only focusing on the physical aspect but also focusing on the shores above."

Dr. Belzunce continued to praise Shen Yun: "Excellent, everything is excellent. Everything flowed well. It's like the yin and yang and the flow, the flexibility.

"I also liked the commentators, the way they introduce everything. It is a very creative way of preparing the audience for what's coming next, a unique way of telling the audience what's coming and then performing it in a beautiful dance, a beautiful way of expressing what is the soul."

Dr. Belzunce attended the show with his wife and friends and said he would recommend Shen Yun to others, adding, "I highly recommend it."

"Everything seems so right"

Daria Ritzer comes from Russia and is studying for a Masters in Business Administration at Cleveland State University. She was accompanied by friends from Russia and really enjoyed the performance. She said, "We liked the costumes--they're beautiful and vivid. We like all the dancing. We are discussing it, and everything seems so right."

She thought the dancing was of a very high standard and said, "Very beautiful, very interesting. We also like the fact that we're learning about the Chinese culture, the different plays, the dances. There are definitely many things I didn't even know existed. I think about the expressions of the performers and dancers, so I think it was definitely great. We are really enjoying ourselves."

Ms. Ritzer continued, "We loved everything, from the dancing to the piece where the woman was not allowed to practice her own beliefs. I was definitely touched by that. It stirred up many emotions in me."

She felt she had learned many things by watching the show, explaining, "I would say, some traditional things that we do not see in our everyday lives, because it is completely different here. Everything, like the piece with the tiger, I believe, is based on a traditional tale. Very beautiful. I thought that it expressed the humor of that time."

"Wu Song Battles the Tiger" is based on a scene from Outlaws of the Marsh, one of China's most beloved novels. In this dance, villagers are terrorized by a man-eating tiger until an unlikely hero arrives and finds the courage to face the beast only after he has consumed three bowls of wine.

Source:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/36538/

Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts