NEW YORK—Having been a ballet dancer in Poland when the country fell to communism, a gentleman who saw the Shen Yun Performing Arts matinee at the Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater on June 25 was so moved that he cried during and after the performance.
When this reporter approached the elderly gentleman and his wife for an interview, he said: “My opinion? It was excellent! See my eyes.” They were moist with tears.
He explained that he knew what it was like to be an artist in exile and to have one’s artistic expression suppressed and curtailed by a communist regime.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts cannot go to China because the current regime will not allow the company’s depictions of traditional Chinese culture and of the reality of religious persecution in the country today.
“I got this kind of feeling like the Chinese people have because I’m from Poland, and it’s a similar story,” the man said. “We also had to escape from our country to show ourselves.” He said the performance was “just superb.”
His wife explained that he used to dance in the Warsaw Ballet in Poland. “I feel these people, I feel this,” he said.
The man had danced in Aida during his time as a ballet dancer. After dancing professionally for seven years, he received a tip-off to leave the country immediately. The borders were closed the day he left.
Later he found out that his ballet school was put under Soviet control. “There was a government with the hand on you not allowing you to do anything,” he said.
His wife said: “I loved this show. They do everything straight, everything together. I love that. And I love the color. It was a story about China. It was beautiful. I have no idea how to describe it.”
The man expressed gratitude to Shen Yun for showing the beauty and culture of China. “It’s so emotional. I’m sorry, so much emotion,” he said.
When asked what it was about Shen Yun that people should take note of, he merely said, “You have to see it!”
Reporting by Pamela Tsai.
Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company is performing at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City, to June 26. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
