SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Boeing Engineer Felt ‘Enlightened' by Shen Yun

Feb 16, 2023
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Boeing Engineer Felt ‘Enlightened' by Shen Yun
Jane and Robert Wahlstrom at the Shen Yun Performance at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center, in Arizona, on Feb. 15, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)

MESA, Ariz.—“The best I’ve ever seen,” said Robert Wahlstrom about Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Mr. Wahlstrom, owner of a Ford Dealership, and his wife Jane, a retired nurse, attended the matinee performance at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center in Arizona on Feb. 15.

“It was wonderful,” said Mr. Wahlstrom, “colorful, graceful, beautiful!”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern-day.

According to the company’s website, the presented heroes from ancient folklore embody the most exalted virtues of Chinese civilization and convey morals still relevant to the modern-day.

In regards to Shen Yun’s mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture, Mr. Wahlstrom said, “it would be great if we could get back to those traditions,”

“We could all use those principles in this day and age and all over the world,” he added.

Mr. Wahlstrom was touched most by a dance story depicting the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China, saying “that was the most touching … and to know that it is still going on today.”

Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, is a spiritual discipline based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution against the practice in 1999, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.

“We need goodness … and compassion,” said Mrs. Wahlstrom, “we have gone so far from those principles … every culture needs to come forth with that.”

‘I Almost Cried’

Keith Mukhar, systems engineer for Boeing, and his mother Shirley, former administrative specialist for Boeing, also attended the matinee performance of Shen Yun at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center on Feb. 15.
“It was fantastic,” said Mr. Mukhar, “I loved the dancing, I loved the singing, I loved the two-string instrument,” he said.
Keith Mukhar and his mother Shirley at the Shen Yun Performance at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center, in Arizona, on Feb. 15, 2023. (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times)
Keith Mukhar and his mother Shirley at the Shen Yun Performance at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center, in Arizona, on Feb. 15, 2023. (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times)

The erhu is a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument that has been called the “Chinese violin.” An incredibly expressive instrument, it can convey a broad range of emotions, even imitating sounds from chirping birds to neighing horses, Shen Yun’s website explains.

“It was very calming, very beautiful,” said Mr. Mukhar, “some of the dancing, I almost cried.”

Shen Yun features a one-of-a-kind orchestra that blends traditional Chinese instruments into a classical Western orchestra and also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style.

“I like the tenor’s performance,” said Mrs. Mukhar, “he evoked a lot of emotion.”

After seeing Shen Yun, Mr. Mukhar said he felt “very enlightened” in his heart.
Reporting by Mary Mann, Sherry Dong, and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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