SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Reminds Us It’s Important Not to Forget the Past, Says Retired Company Owner

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Shen Yun Reminds Us It’s Important Not to Forget the Past, Says Retired Company Owner
Jeff and Debbie Russell enjoyed Shen Yun's evening show at the Miller Theater on March 15, 2024. Lily Sun/The Epoch Times

PHILADELPHIA—Retired company owner Jeff Russell and his wife Debbie, a bank director, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ seventh performance at the Miller Theater.

Exiting the theater on the evening of March 15, the couple was speechless.

“There’s no words for it. The history of China, the oppression [of the current communist regime,] the beauty, and what was taken from the people after the [Cultural] Revolution—that was just a beautiful expression of what was and what could be. I loved it,” Mr. Russell said.

For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values.

Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.

The dream of these New York-based Shen Yun artists is to return to the world’s stage—the glory and beauty of China’s millennia worth of divinely inspired culture.

Mr. Russell thinks Shen Yun’s mission is wonderful because “art should reflect the reality of what’s going on in the world, what we can become, and what we’ve lost.”

“In order to move forward to the future, I think it’s important not to forget the past,” he added.

Moreover, Mrs. Russell was wowed by the talent and beauty of the dancers. The show energized her.

“I loved it, I absolutely loved it. It was wonderful—the dancing was absolutely amazing, and the message was also amazing. I really did enjoy it,” she said.

Reflecting on Shen Yun’s modern-day story dance raising awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong—a peaceful spiritual practice whose followers uphold the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, Mrs. Russell said she has heard of the struggles in China and the artists’ presentation was “really, truly amazing.”

“I didn’t know what to expect [walking into the show]. I just knew I wanted to see it,” she said.

“I think the most amazing thing is how much the artists put into the display of their dancing, singing, and music. It was just fantastic.”

If given one sentence to summarize Shen Yun for her friends and family, she would tell them, “Go see it, absolutely go see it.”
Reporting by Lily Sun and Jennifer Tseng.
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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