SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Navy Veterans Moved by Shen Yun

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Navy Veterans Moved by Shen Yun
Emily and Lee Wright at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at Ohio Theatre, on March 5, 2022. Charlie Lu/The Epoch Times
COLUMBUS, Ohio—A picture is worth a thousand words. But what about a song or a dance? Emily and Lee Wright found that Shen Yun Performing Arts effectively uses its performers’ talent to replace words and convey a powerful message.

“Art is a very universal medium. I feel like it doesn’t matter where you are from, dance, song, it can get to you. Even if you don’t understand the words, you can portray meaning and feeling just through your motions, your costumes,” Mrs. Wright said.

Both Mrs. and Mr. Wright are Navy veterans. Mrs. Wright now works for the federal government. As people who once defended the country, seeing New York-based Shen Yun’s efforts to raise awareness of the lack of freedom in China made a strong impression on them.

“They should have freedom of religion. Everyone should be able to express themselves. ... You lose so much of who a person is, or a people, who they are, if you just try to erase their entire history,” Mrs. Wright said.

Seven decades ago, China was still immersed in its 5,000 years of traditional culture. After the communist party took over, it tried to eradicate China’s history. Shen Yun has been reviving this history since the company’s inception in 2006.

“It’s heartbreaking, so I can understand why someone would feel so passionate and put together this show to explain to the world—it hurts my heart that people can’t live their lives the way they feel they should be able to live them,” Mrs. Wright said.

Mr. Wright added that the feeling of losing one’s culture is highly relatable.

“The emotion that you feel, it’s not something that just somebody who is Chinese would feel. It’s something, anybody, any parent, would feel. And it makes you angry, and makes me say, ‘Why?’”

Although Shen Yun’s mission is serious, it presents the best and brightest of Chinese culture to the world. The dance and music of Shen Yun capture the beauty that China once was.

“It’s absolutely stunning. I remember seeing the first advertisements for it back when we lived in San Diego. I’ve been waiting several years for it—just the movement, the color, the costumes, I am getting goosebumps from just thinking about it right now. It’s absolutely remarkable,” Mrs. Wright said.

The dancers‘ elaborate use of colorful costumes and props brightens the entire stage. The digital backdrop extends the stage endlessly and transports audiences to different places of the world and even out of this world.
“I love the rich colors and the backgrounds that they use of course, and they use their entire body and entire costume and setting, to tell a really beautiful story about the different regions of China, about some of their ancient culture, which is just remarkable. I absolutely love it,” she added.
Reporting by Charlie Lu and Maria Han.
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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