SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Mayor Welcomes Shen Yun and Says Her City Is Lucky ‘To Be Able to See Such an Amazing Production’

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Mayor Welcomes Shen Yun and Says Her City Is Lucky ‘To Be Able to See Such an Amazing Production’
Erica Stewart, mayor of San Luis Obispo, welcoming Shen Yun at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on March 26, 2023. NTD

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—Erica Stewart, the mayor of San Luis Obispo, was delighted by Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo on March 26.

As a mayor since October 2021, Mrs. Stewart said, “it’s an amazing show and I think that we are lucky in San Luis Obispo of 47,000 people to be able to see such an amazing production.”

“The beauty, the story, the history is wonderful,” she added.

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.
“I really am trying to help make this community a more welcoming community, a more diverse community, and be able to share the Arts like Shen Yun is sharing is wonderful,” she said.
Since 2006, Shen Yun has performed at top theatres worldwide with a mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture. Drawing upon ancient China’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies, Shen Yun says its performances demonstrate “China before communism.”
Mrs. Stewart thought Shen Yun’s revival of ancient culture and spirituality was very relevant in today’s society.

“We need more love, more peace, more working together, more communication, and also just a little more time and taking mindfulness,” she said.

Mrs. Stewart was proud to welcome Shen Yun to San Luis Obispo.

To the performers, she said, “thank you so much for sharing your art, coming here and sharing with San Luis Obispo the beauty and all of your hard work.

‘More Mesmerizing’

Retro Bill at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on March 26. (Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times)
Retro Bill at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on March 26. Linda Jiang/The Epoch Times
Retro Bill, a children’s edutainment and motivational speaker for the restaurant lodging and airline industries, also attended the Shen Yun performance at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo on March 26.

“I love Shen Yun,” said Mr. Bill, “I’ve seen it many times and no matter how many times you see it, I always tell somebody you’re going to miss something so go back and see it again!”

“Nobody is going to leave disappointed; I can guarantee you that you will leave wanting to see it again!”

As a producer, Mr. Bill said Shen Yun “gets more mesmerizing” over the years.

“I’ve seen the implementation of the backdrop and the dancing even get better and better and more sophisticated,” he said, “and I love to hear the audience just ooh and ah, wondering how the performers are coming out of the screen from behind.”

Shen Yun utilizes a cutting-edge patented digital backdrop that allows the performers to remarkably travel back and forth between the stage and the background projection.

Keeping the Past Alive

In regards to Shen Yun’s revival of traditional culture, Mr. Bill said: “I think the show does a beautiful job of honoring ancient Chinese history … it shows how you have to keep the past alive to move forward in the future.”

“I think there’s a lot of people who after they experience this will have an even better appreciation for Chinese culture and history, as well as I think they’re going to leave thinking about faith and being a better human,” he added.

In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the company’s website.

Commenting on the virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style, Mr. Bill said the lyrics are “beautiful and very, very heart touching … and it fills you with faith.”

“Anybody that’s into music, history, faith, should come and see Shen Yun, it’s a must,” he said, “If you’ve never seen it, you’ve got to at least see it once in your lifetime!”

Reporting by NTD, Linda Jiang, and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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