SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Architect Moved by Shen Yun’s Beauty

Mar 18, 2022

NEW YORK—"I started crying in the first five minutes because I was just so moved by the movement and the music and I just felt something come alive within me,” said Suzy Cash, an architect.

When Shen Yun Performing Arts played in the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in New York on Thursday, two audience members, Suzy Cash and Angel Huerta felt an immediate connection.

‘[Shen Yun] really touches on your spirituality because the music itself, the live orchestra, helps to soften you and connect you with what is being performed and displayed on the stage. So, it’s a very spiritual experience,” said Huerta, an interior designer.

Shen Yun is reviving China’s traditional culture which was virtually lost when the communist regime came to power. Chinese classical and folk dancing display the beauty and the wisdom of five millennia of a society that was once known as the celestial empire.

The Shen Yun orchestra, which combines traditional Eastern and classical Western instruments, produces melodies that are unique in the world of music.

When a brochure for Shen Yun appeared in his mailbox that same morning, Huerta immediately bought tickets.

“What I loved about the [performance] … it’s a unique combination of cinematic digital displays, and then live performing in front of it. So, it’s a combination of going to the movies and seeing a live show at the same time,” said Huerta. The storytelling, theatre, and costumes were beautifully integrated, he added.

Cash was impressed by the dedication that went into the performance.

“I love the meticulous dancing … and just the way it’s so manicured. So much love goes into their movements. You can tell that they really love what they do and it’s just effortless. [The dancers] literally float,” she said.

“They are like angels. It’s so beautiful.”

Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company's curtain call at The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, on March 17, 2022. (Larry Dye/The Epoch Times) — Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company's curtain call at The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, on March 17, 2022. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times

Shen Yun was a top-notch performance, said Huerta.

“This is a [performance] that I will definitely recommend to people above any other shows I’ve seen because it’s just so unique, but [it] also has a powerful message,” he said. The message was relevant at this very time and people needed to hear it. There are a lot of people in China who desire freedom but who are up against a communist regime, he said.

“A lot of the people are having to find that peace inside of themselves because they’re facing such an [controlling] environment,” Huerta said. He added that there were people in China who were being murdered and taken advantage of.

Huerta is referring to Shen Yun’s mini-dramas depicting the current persecution of the traditional Chinese spiritual practice known as Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa’s beliefs are based on the universal values of truth, compassion, and tolerance.

Cash was in total agreement.

“I think also just the message … where we come from and our past and our culture, is really beautiful, and we should be able to identify with that if we choose to,” said Cash. She admired the fact that Shen Yun was bringing back China’s traditional culture while depicting present-day events as well.

Cash opined that the spirituality in Shen Yun came through strongly, especially in the song ‘To Heaven in this Lifetime,’ sung by its baritone. The lyrics speak of man’s spiritual journey through the many planes of heaven over a period of millions of years.

“And I think that just showed there’s danger in the communist movement that’s not allowing that spirituality to [flow] freely,” she said.

“I think the government is afraid of people being free because it kind of disarms government because people find their own governance within themselves when they become spiritual. And if they find that within themselves, they don’t rely on someone like the government to guide them,” Huerta concluded.

Reporting by Weiyong Zhu and Diane Cordemans.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.