NEW YORK—Regina and Robert Hazzard were taken aback by the excellence of Shen Yun Performing Arts, which they saw for the first time on April 14.
“I have tears in my eyes,” said Mrs. Hazzard, a social worker, after the performance at Lincoln Center. “I feel so emotional. I’m so happy that people are going to start to realize what is going on, what’s oppressing different cultures in China. The communism is so bad, and it’s starting to spread to this country.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to show audiences “China before communism.“ China was once known as ”The Land of the Divine,” and that divinely inspired culture of 5,000 years only stopped with communism’s takeover in 1949.
Mr. Hazzard, who manages a law firm, enjoyed that journey.
“I was very taken away, taken back by the show. I thought it was excellent,” he said.
“I thought the quality was excellent. I thought it was very well done. I thought it was colorful and beautiful. It was very impressive.”
Five Millennia
Shen Yun’s programs include more than a dozen vignettes, including ethnic and folk dances that showcase some of China’s 50-plus ethnic minorities and various regions, and story-telling dances that bring to life some of the histories and legends of five millennia.“I just really enjoyed it, and I liked seeing all the different aspects of the culture throughout history,” Mrs. Hazzard said.
Ahmed Raja, a business owner, attended the performance with his family and said he loved it so much he wanted to see it again.
“It just was absolutely outstanding,” he said. “Very uplifting, very nice, beautiful music, beautiful dance ... a lot of positive energy.”
Reporting by Weiyong Zhu.
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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