SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Retired Taiwan Army Lieutenant General Admires Shen Yun’s Positive Energy

Mar 02, 2023

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan—A Taiwanese retired lieutenant general admired Shen Yun Performing Arts and appreciated the positive energy of the performance, after attending at the Chih-The Hall of the Kaohsiung Cultural Center on March 2.

Mr. Hao I-chin is the chairman of Shinping Natural Gas Company. The 64-year-old businessman is a retired lieutenant general and used to be the deputy commander and chief of staff at Republic of China Army (the Army of Taiwan).

“The performance is very touching. I admire it. We could feel the show spreading a positive energy to us,” he said. “The performance is at a super high artistic level. Together with the classical Chinese dance, the dynamic backdrop transported us through time and space. It’s very, very amazing!”

Mr. Hao said he was surprised the theater was full when he arrived, because hardly ever saw a full hall when he attended performances. After watching Shen Yun, he understood why the theater was full, and was very happy that so many experienced the positive effect of Shen Yun.

“I felt the show has been therapy for the soul. The dancers presented very positive values. All the aspects together worked to inspire us to be good. It’s really wonderful to watch these programs one after another,” he said. “This is a very successful performance.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show audiences the beauty and goodness of “China before communism.”

Mr. Hao appreciated the fact that Shen Yun’s programs present China’s history as well as the current China.

“The whole program is fantastic. It expressed the traditional culture and historical stories. It promotes the kindness and compassion and encourages people to be kind. At the end, the show revealed the truth of Falun Gong is suffering persecution in Mainland China.”

According to the official website, Falun Gong teaches the three principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance. Such spiritual cultivation practices were once not uncommon in China, which was known as the Land of the Divine. But today, under the communist regime, these people of faith are subject to unprecedented human rights abuses, including live organ harvesting.

“Actually, truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance are the values everybody should pursue. These are very good things, and should not be unjustly persecuted,” he said. “We should promote these values.”

Mr. Hao believes that Shen Yun will be even more popular soon, because “this show is really magnificent!”

‘An Absolutely Splendid Artistic Feast’

Ms. Chuang Pi-mei, the chairman of a construction company, said Shen Yun was superb and she enjoyed it a lot.

“I couldn’t stop smiling during the whole show. Watching this classical art, I was very happy,” she said. “This performance guided me into a purely beautiful world. This is an absolutely splendid artistic feast!”

Ms. Chuang said that Shen Yun presents traditional Chinese culture and values, artistic culture, classical culture, and humanities, which made theatergoers like herself feel very happy and relaxed.

“The dancers have super high techniques. Every step they made was very stable. I wonder how can they make this happen, it’s simply amazing,” she said. “In fact, their movements are very light. It’s as if they’re flying in the air when they dance. They are magical and brilliant.”

Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.

“My eyes were brightened by the high-tech backdrop,” she said. “The actors coordinated with the backdrop so well. It’s hard to separate which is real and which is an illusion. The design is incredibly well matched.”

Ms. Chuang said she admired Shen Yun for uplifting audiences.

“Every story, every program of Shen Yun delivers inspiration. It’s teaching people to be good. This is very good,” she said. “The dances made us very happy and encouraged us to think more of life.”

“Shen Yun is superb!” she said. “Shen Yun’s artistic director did a great job.”