SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Brings Such Joy Says Retired Air Force Tech

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Shen Yun Brings Such Joy Says Retired Air Force Tech
Thom Juul, retired Air Force avionics tech and his wife Susan at the Morrison Center, in Boise, on March 2, 2024. NTD

BOISE, Idaho—Thom Juul, retired Air Force avionics tech, and his wife Susan returned this year to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Morrison Center on March 2.

“This is our second time seeing Shun Yun, and it won’t be our last,” said Mr. Juul, “it was just so beautiful and so exciting [last year] that we almost immediately bought tickets for this year … and we'll do the same for next year.”

From the moment the curtain rose, Mr. Juul said he couldn’t stop smiling.

“I almost cried,” he said, “[smiling] was all I could do to keep the tears [back] … it was so beautiful—and when the curtain goes down, I want more.”

Aside from the beautiful dances and costumes, Shen Yun’s unique storytelling and mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional cultureis what brought the Juul’s back to see the performance for a consecutive year.

“This group brings such joy,” said Mr. Juul, “the stories they tell … makes me appreciate the culture more.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s leading 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.

These [dancers] are absolutely amazing. Every gesture, every movement, absolutely perfect,” said Mr. Juul.

“When the men dance, it’s like there’s no gravity up there: They just get so high, and it seems so effortless … they land so gently you can hardly hear them,” he added, “and when the ladies dance, [it’s] just so graceful and so beautiful.”

With its flips and gentle elegance, classical Chinese dance is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms. According to the company’s website, classical Chinese dance involves a dance-acting element where coordinating facial expressions with physical movements results in an amplified form of expression.

Mr. Juul also said he loves Shen Yun’s unique orchestra, which blends traditional Chinese instruments with a classical Western orchestra. Ancient Chinese instruments such as the two-string erhu and the pipa lead the melody amidst the traditional instruments found in a Western orchestra.

“I think the erhu is my favorite instrument,” he said.

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

As a traditionalist, Mr. Juul said he believes that “tradition is the way we relate and connect with the past and how we relate and connect to the future.”

“To bring this 5,000 years of culture forward, hopefully, it will go on,” he said.

Since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006, the company has grown from 1 to 9 equally large companies that tour the world simultaneously.

Despite all of the cities worldwide in which Shen Yun has performed, they are still not allowed in China.
Reporting by NTD, Steve, 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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