(Minghui.org) From January 23–29, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts continued to bring touching tales of “China before communism” to audiences in the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, and the United States.
Shen Yun New York Company presented seven performances at The Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., January 24–29. Shown above is the company’s last performance on January 29, which was presented to a packed house. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun Touring Company at the packed house at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 29. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun North America Company at the packed house at the Von Braun Center Concert Hall in Huntsville, Alabama, on January 24. The company was originally scheduled to present one performance in Huntsville. However, due to high demand, the local presenter added one more performance. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun New World Company at the Aronoff Center for the Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 28. The company presented three performances in Cincinnati January 28–29. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun North American Company at the packed house at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 28. The company presented two performances in Memphis January 28–29, both to packed houses. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun International Company at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts - Muriel Kauffman Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 28. The company presented four performances in Kansas City January 27–29. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun Global Company at the Nieuwe Luxor Theater in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on January 26. The company presented four performances in Rotterdam January 24–26, all to packed houses. (The Epoch Times)
Shen Yun Global Company at the sold-out performance at the Palacio Euskalduna in Bilbao, Spain, on January 29. (The Epoch Times)
“I Hope That We Can Learn from This and Imitate It”
Radio host Phil Paleologos at the Shen Yun performance in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 28 (NTD Television)
Radio host Phil Paleologos and his wife Celeste, who helps drug-addicted individuals find careers, saw Shen Yun in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 28.
Known as the “Morning Mayor,” Phil made a connection to the performance with his profession: “I’m in broadcasting. I’m a radio show host in the morning. I wake up people the same way Shen Yun has woken us up.”
Phil liked the beginning of the performance when “everything came from the heavens, and everyone was happy and there was beauty and harmony.”
He felt inspired by various aspects of the performance: “The music, the dancing, the art, the performances. They lift the spirit and they bring in all the beauty. I hope that we can learn from this and imitate it,” he said.
Celeste loved the music. “Oh, the musicians were fantastic, and I think was perfectly directed. It touched on everything,” she said.
Phil loved the beauty of traditional culture that Shen Yun presented but that China’s communist regime has tried to take that away.
Speaking to the company, he said: “The art that you’ve brought forth here: I had no idea of the beauty of it. Thank you for doing that, opening up our hearts and our minds. It was fabulous. We’ll be here next year.”
“Reminded Me How Much I Admire Chinese Culture”
Sam Brownback, former governor of Kansas and United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, at the Shen Yun performance in Washington, D.C., on January 27 (The Epoch Times)
Sam Brownback, former governor of Kansas and United States Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom from 2018 to 2021, saw Shen Yun in Washington, D.C., on January 27.
Speaking of the piece that depicted the present-day persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, Mr. Brownback said, “I’ve been working on religious persecution cases for many years... It just brought a tear to my eye.”
“[I] have worked with Falun Gong members over 15 years... I’m familiar; tragically, I’m familiar with it,” he said.
But he was moved to see it portrayed in Shen Yun, which he found “beautiful, elegant, graceful, and told a tremendous story.”
“It brings an awareness [to people] that they didn’t have,” Mr. Brownback added.
As Mr. Brownback’s first experience with Shen Yun, he said his main takeaway was distinguishing traditional Chinese culture from the Chinese Communist Party.
“It reminded me how much I admire Chinese culture... And that was one of the things that first attracted me to China, was the ancient culture and the beauty and the elegance of it, and the family-oriented, educationally driven culture that’s been very successful, that’s not a part of the Communist Party,” he said.
“The Communist Party is a dictatorship and it’s a brutal one. And the Chinese Communist Party is the biggest enabler of human rights abuses around the world. Not just in China, but everywhere. And they really have to be stopped... The Chinese culture is not the Communist Party.”
Mr. Brownback felt that Shen Yun was a “great cultural experience” as well as an educational one in a very important way. And while it touched on the important current events in communist China, it did so through truth and beauty, and moved his heart.
“They’re doing a great job... It’s getting things into the cultural context and out of the political context,” he said.
“That’s where you can start to penetrate people’s minds and hearts. People move by their heart, and it’s got to be knowledge that gets to their heart... This sort of cultural experience is very helpful in doing something like that,” Mr. Brownback said.
“History, Culture, Morality, Beauty”
Claire Stadtmueller, voiceover artist and opera singer, at the Shen Yun performance in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 29 (NTD Television)
Claire Stadtmueller, a voiceover artist and opera singer, saw Shen Yun in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 29.
“I like the themes. I like the morality. It’s like morality messages, about humility, about perseverance, about courage. I really like the themes. And you can see in the acting, that sometimes one of the characters is very humble. It’s beautiful,” Ms. Stadtmueller said.
“The message of aspiring to the divine, to aspire to those qualities. Very much there’s the good and the bad, the dark and the light... Man should aspire to divinity and the qualities of courage and goodness.
“Something like this performance, Shen Yun, is uplifting, and showing history, culture, morality, beauty. It’s amazing,” she said.
“Everything Is Touching”
Artist Lara Rivera at the Shen Yun performance in Bilbao, Spain, on January 29 (NTD Television)
Artist Lara Rivera saw Shen Yun in Bilbao, Spain, on January 29. She had seen Shen Yun numerous times, as she felt it’s never the same experience.
“Tonight it was overwhelming because of the deep message that it emits, and because of the wave of color, coordination, everything. But above all for the deep message that is emitted, which is very important,” said Ms. Rivera.
For Ms. Rivera, this message was that “it is important to maintain the traditions.”
“That it is important to maintain one’s being, and that we are something more than just soil and body; that we are immense souls, we are divine, and to remember it, not to forget it. And to behave accordingly among all of us,” she said.
“It has shaken me,” Ms. Rivera said. She attended the performance with friends, who she said shared her sentiments. “My friends are absolutely knocked out because I have brought them, told them it was all dance, and acrobatics, but I did not tell them the background.”
“They were excited. They cried. They stood up... It is immense what has been felt.
“Everything is touching, everything is very deep, but above all the voices, the live performances, it is very important, the live music, the voices. There are no words to describe it,” she said.
Ms. Rivera is a writer, but she said she fell short of words.
“Because it is very moving, especially deep, very moving, thrilling because the body feels it, the body knows. There is something inside the body that is moving at very strong levels,” she said.
Each Shen Yun artist alone conveyed a great depth, and with so many of them so perfectly coordinated, it was “exquisite, exquisite,” Ms. Rivera added.
Ms. Rivera encouraged all to see Shen Yun as soon as they could, because “it’s something different, and something that is favorable for us to grow, and everything that we need right now, to expand and to be.”
She said she only wished she could see Shen Yun more often.
“A Message of Hope”
Darren Holden, owner of Go-In All Electric, and his daughter at the Shen Yun performance in Fresno, California, on January 28. (The Epoch Times)
Darren Holden, owner of Go-In All Electric, and his daughter saw Shen Yun in Fresno, California, on January 28. He felt that Shen Yun brought a message of hope to the world.
“I think the society nowadays frequently questions whether the divine exists. Many people are forgetting the values we had originally. It’s very good to be able to see this message in this show. And they’re spreading it everywhere, delivering within the globe a message of hope, which is that if we believe in the divine, we will be able to overcome obstacles and build ourselves,” Mr. Holden said.
“Hopefully not only in our country but [the message is] being spread in a very wide range in the world, even in communist or totalitarian countries. People there also have a kind heart and believe in good, universal values.
“I think the theme about creation and the Creator is very good. And also not being manipulated, not yielding to dictators, and maintaining one’s own free will. I think one message was clear, which was that if we firmly believe in and hold onto this point, one day we will be rewarded,” he said.
“This Is What We Need”
Plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Chin and his friend at the Shen Yun performance in Fresno, California, on January 28 (Minghui.org)
Plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Chin and his friend saw Shen Yun in Fresno, California, on January 28.
“The performance was very uplifting. I’m very happy to see China’s [traditional] culture. I’m very happy that the show was able to come to Fresno during the [Lunar] New Year. This year is the year of the rabbit. We’re very happy to see Shen Yun during the celebration of the New Year,” Dr. Chin said.
“I really appreciate the thousands of years of China’s traditional culture presented by Shen Yun... The performance brought together many families [from different backgrounds].
“I’m very glad to see that young artists are dedicated to preserving and returning to traditions. This is very important, because this is what we need,” he said.
“Shen Yun Truly Is a Second-to-none, Wonderful Artistic Performance”
Wang Ruiqin, formerly a member of the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) for Qinghai Province and a private entrepreneur, at the Shen Yun performance in Washington, D.C., on January 29 (The Epoch Times)
Wang Ruiqin, a former member of the national committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) for Qinghai Province and a former private entrepreneur, saw Shen Yun in Washington, D.C., on January 29.
“The stage effects, the dancing, the artistic conception, and the singing were all very good. One thing is the high artistic level and the other is that it was very realistic and truthfully reflected China’s current state. All the dance dramas’ content was considerate toward [audiences from] different parts of the world, so everyone can understand,” Ms. Wang said.
“Using dance dramas to portray the current China is very close to reality and highly artistic. The stage design, music, and background were all very good. Especially that I did not think that there would be an orchestra – I was very shocked... Shen Yun truly is a second-to-none, wonderful artistic performance,” she said.
The last piece left her with the deepest impression. “Because it considered modern life. There’re young couples arguing, [people] looking at their phones, the pandemic, as well as the final salvation. The artistic skills were very high. The level was very good,” she said.
“The faith of any ethnicity and nation makes people become better and be saved, and teaches people to be kind. The CCP is opposite of all these faiths, because it is very evil, including forced organ harvesting. These were all shown in Shen Yun’s programs. They’re all very artistic. This is a very good form.
“Falun Dafa and all positive faiths are irreconcilable with the evilness of the CCP. This kind of evilness has to be cleared out. Displaying these ideas and concepts through arts is very good and should be promoted,” she said.
Shen Yun Is Welcomed by Local Public Officials
Prior to Shen Yun’s performances in Kansas City, Missouri, January 27–29, the company received proclamations and welcome letters from: Mike Parson, Governor of Missouri; U.S. Senator Jerry Moran; U.S. Senator Roger Marshall; Congressman Ron Estes; Judy Bowman, Mayor of Harrisonville; Kathy Rose, Mayor of Riverside; Levi Weaver, Mayor of Greenwood; and Michael Poppa, Mayor of Roeland Park. (The Epoch Times)
Proclamations and welcome letters from Norman K. Larkey, Mayor of Belton; Levi Weaver, Mayor of Greenwood; Judy Bowman, Mayor of Harrisonville; Tyrone A. Garner, Mayor of Kansas City; Mike Parson, Governor of Missouri; U.S. Senator Jerry Moran; U.S. Senator Roger Marshall; and Congressman Ron Estes. (Minghui.org)
Governor Mike Parson of Missouri wrote in his letter, “On behalf of the six million citizens of Missouri, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Shen Yun Performing Arts production.”
Prior to Shen Yun’s performances in Fresno, California, January 28–29, the company received certificates of recognition and welcome letters from: (left to right, top to bottom) U.S. Senator Alex Padilla; Congressman Jim Costa; California State Senator Anna Caballero; California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula; Sal Quintero, member and chairman of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors; and Jerry Dyer, Mayor of Fresno. (The Epoch Times)
Certificates of recognition and welcome letters from: California Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula; California State Senator Anna Caballero; Sal Quintero, member and chairman of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors; Jerry Dyer, Mayor of Fresno; Congressman Jim Costa; and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla. (Minghui.org)
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla wrote in his welcome letter, “Thank you for sharing traditional Chinese arts and bringing to light thousands of years of Chinese cultural heritage. Your performances throughout the world preserve and celebrate the culture of ancient China and allow people to appreciate the arts.”
Upcoming Performances
Shen Yun continues its 2023 tour with upcoming performances in Sacramento, California, February 3–4; Nashville, Tennessee, February 3–4; San Antonio, Texas, February 3–19; Lyon, France, February 4–9; Busan, South Korea, February 3–5; Montreal, Canada, February 3–5; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, February 3–4.
All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
