FORT MYERS, Fla.—Theatergoers at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall on Tuesday evening, April 23, were full of praise for Shen Yun Performing Arts’ superb artistry and its portrayal of 5,000 years of China’s divinely inspired culture. It was a full house that evening for Shen Yun’s first performance ever in Fort Myers.
“I am very impressed by the music. I’m impressed by the costumes and the abilities of the dancers,” said Bud Palmer, owner of a cleaning-equipment manufacturing company who attended the performance with his wife, Angela Palmer.
Based in New York, Shen Yun features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra that blends classical Western instruments with traditional Chinese instruments, state-of-the-art animated backdrops, and hundreds of handmade, colorful costumes.
“Chinese dance is at the heart of what Shen Yun does. Known for its incredible flips and spins, and its gentle elegance, it [Chinese dance] is one of the most rigorous and expressive art forms in the world,” the Shen Yun website states.
The performance company was founded in 2006 by a group of leading classical Chinese artists who wished to revive the true, divinely inspired culture of China. According to the Shen Yun website, traditional culture in China has been co-opted and destroyed under decades of communist rule.
Mr. Palmer said that through the performance, he was able to see the “happy side” of the Chinese people. “Dance is always expressive of people’s inner feelings,” he said.
“I think the inner feelings of the Chinese people are a lot different from what the [Chinese] government portrays, certainly a lot different from what is really going on in China [today],” Mr. Palmer explained.
Reporting by Vivian Shao
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
