Shen Yun Shows Where Human Values Come From, Says Washington Theatergoer
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Lisa and Barry Wiggins enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 27, 2023. Terri Wu/The Epoch Times
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Lisa Wiggins, a tutor, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts and loved it so much that she decided she had to see it again to share it with her husband.
“It’s really wonderful. I think it’s visually just so beautiful and elegant,” said Mrs. Wiggins. “I remember the first time I saw it, I was surprised.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, and on Jan. 27, the Wigginses had a window into China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired civilization at The Kennedy Center Opera House.
“The dance was fantastic,” Mr. Wiggins said. “They’re showing the different influences of the ethnic groups and cultures within China, as expressed through dance—very interesting. And probably not something you would think about as being sort of that much diversity within the country.”
China is home to 50-some ethnic minority groups, and every year Shen Yun features a number of ethnic and folk dances in addition to classical Chinese dance.
“It’s been great dance, but there’s also been a very good, very interesting message behind it,” said Mr. Wiggins. “The historical mythology about Creation within the country, it’s been a very good opportunity to see that.'’
“It’s such a stunning show,” Mrs. Wiggins said.
Maricela Noble enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 27, 2023. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times
Also in the audience were David Noble, retired from the State Department, and Maricela Noble, owner of a holistic center. The Nobles were moved by the depth of humanity they found in Shen Yun.
“I just love it because it’s so emotional, it represents humanity, feeling, really, from the bottom of your heart,” Mrs. Noble said. “I think it is so emotional to see that human emotions, the true emotions within—it is really nice. It’s very peaceful, it’s very healing.”
Mr. Noble said, “I just really enjoyed the dancing. I mean, it’s just fantastic.”
“It’s sad that the Chinese have kind of lost their traditional culture. So I’m really happy to see it this time,” he said. “Traditional culture has a lot of value, I think, and a lot of that traditional culture is a spiritual culture.”
Mrs. Noble added, “if we lost spirituality, we'd lose humanity.”
All of Shen Yun’s pieces brought forth important universal values, whether it was a comedy, an action-packed historical piece, or a musical solo, Mrs. Noble explained.
“In every number ... there was courage, in that one with confronting the lion, and then there was inspiration with the poets, and then there was the sacrifice of the mother ... then this other one representing all the cultures from different regions of China,“ she said. ”That was beautiful.”
“Spirituality is the expression of the soul for every human,” she said.
“In [Shen Yun] you represent that humanity followed [the Creator] to come here to save lives, so life itself begins within the spirit. And we forget, sometimes, that we exist—we’re just doing things without thinking and realizing the moment, in the instant. We take for granted many things, every day.”
“So, [Shen Yun] is showing to everybody all our values as humans—it begins with the spirit,” she said. “Courage, sacrifice, inspiration— inspiration comes from divinity, and each one of us has the divine!”
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