SEATTLE—Shen Yun Performing Arts donned the stage for its final Marion Oliver McCaw Hall performance in Seattle on Sunday afternoon, March 31. In the audience was Paul Freeman, who works in the process and research department at AT&T.
“I’m mesmerized!” he said. “I was excited just hearing about it.”
“It just kind of puts you in a place that you haven’t been,” he added. “So you’re just kind of spellbound, and I just enjoy it.”
“Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun weaves a wondrous tapestry of heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales, taking you on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese culture,” reads Shen Yun’s website. “Its stunning beauty and tremendous energy leave audiences uplifted and inspired.”
That unique energy was not lost upon Mr. Freeman. “The human form—and what it can do—and just the intricacies of everybody flowing together,” he explained, “it’s just like art in motion.”
Shen Yun’s website states that through the expression of bearing and form, beautiful dance movements bring out the inner meaning of feelings, reflecting the peculiarities of human nature, the standard for human conduct, moral concepts, mental states, and one’s value system.
“It’s being painted right before your eyes,” Mr. Freeman said. “The movement and the color, the beauty of it, the tranquility of the music—it’s a full plate.”
Mr. Freeman added that through the performance, he feels that he has come to better understand the nuances of history’s development. “I’m beginning to see how we got to where we are now,” he said.
“The beauty, the discipline—and things like that,” he added, “tells you a lot about a culture.”
“For 5,000 years divine culture flourished in the land of China,” reads Shen Yun’s website. “Humanity’s treasure was nearly lost, but through breathtaking music and dance, Shen Yun is bringing back this glorious culture.”
Mr. Freeman concluded that he has always admired China’s culture, and he said that now he is fortunate to have taken part in the true divinity of it.
“And now I’ve had a chance to see,” he concluded.
With reporting by Michael Green and Michael Fitzgerald
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.