Very Important to Keep Traditional Chinese Culture Alive

Appreciative audience members at the Keller Auditorium He Qingxin/The Epoch Times

Appreciative audience members at the Keller Auditorium He Qingxin/The Epoch Times

PORTLAND, Ore.—Shen Yun Performing Arts played for the second time this year in Portland at the Keller Auditorium on May 19, presenting classical Chinese dance to many appreciative audience members. After recent successful performances in Orange County, Pasadena, and San Jose, Shen Yun continues on its Spring Tour 2009 of the West Coast.

Mr. and Ms. Bookless, a computer engineer and an administrative assistant, who attended the performance, were impressed with the color that Shen Yun brings to the stage. All of the costumes in Shen Yun are original creations. They are carefully designed and tailored with meticulous care and are very colorful.

“The show was very colorful, very athletic and ... very expressive,” Mr. Bookless said.

Ms. Bookless found the program to be very educational, because many of the legends that shaped ancient Chinese life are in the show, such as dances depicting the Chinese General Yue Fei as well as the Yellow Emperor.

The couple also particularly enjoyed the dance Mongolian Chopsticks, a drumming program, in which the dancers use chopsticks as percussion, which is a traditional custom in Mongolia. In reference to the dance, Mr. Bookless said, “The drummers were very athletic, the drummers were very good.”

New York-based Shen Yun strives to keep the original traditional Chinese culture alive and revive its true essence, which was mostly lost under the current communist regime.

Mr. Bookless added that he feels the show is effective in its mission of preserving traditional Chinese culture, saying, “It is very important to keep the culture alive.”

His wife added that it’s “very important—absolutely—that’s why we’re here.”

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Spring Tour 2009. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org