AUGUSTA, Ga.—With its grand display of the millennia-old culture of an ancient nation, Shen Yun Performing Arts touched the hearts of audience members once again in Augusta. Shen Yun opened its two-night run at Augusta’s William B. Bell Auditorium, on Tuesday March 18.

Tom Hallman, distinguished chancellor emeritus at University of South Carolina Aiken, said the performance was very colorful and enjoyable.

“Lots of energy, lots of talent,” he said about Shen Yun.

His wife Susan Hallman, a nurse practitioner, said Shen Yun is very energetic and also “emotionally moving.”

“It’s just lovely in every respect, and the dancers clearly have such great talent…and the orchestra is dynamic. Just lovely all the way around,” she said.

Mr. Hallman said China has a “great heritage,” and said it’s a shame to see the oppression happening in China in modern times.

“We’ve read about that for many years, it’s not a surprise,” he said referencing some of the pieces that show the cruelty shown by the Chinese regime in China today.

Shen Yun was established by a group of leading classical Chinese artists with a mission to revive China’s divinely inspired culture. Based in New York, the dance company enjoys artistic freedom and travels the globe with its world-renowned performances, staging shows in all corners of the world except China, where it is currently not allowed to visit.

Shen Yun Shows Virtue of Chinese Culture

Connie Bryant, a classical singer and a teacher, found Shen Yun to be a wonderful performance.

“My mother is totally deaf ... She is the one suggested coming. I didn’t think she would enjoy it, but there are so much action and movement she can enjoy ... without being able to hear,” Ms. Bryant said.

“The musicians are fantastic, especially the vocalist, the soprano. They were wonderful. And the pianist, you can tell she is well classically trained; just her movement, the smoothness of her style, and the way she plays so musically, just absolutely beautifully done.”

The Shen Yun Orchestra, which plays original scores and accompanies the dance pieces, blends traditional Chinese instruments with a Western orchestra, creating a unique sound.

Shen Yun’s award winning vocalists sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style. “Their impassioned songs give voice to ”hopes that have shaped Chinese culture for centuries,” states Shen Yun’s website.

Watching Shen Yun, Ms. Bryant said, leaves her with a happy feeling.

“It’s just that their feelings, the way they encompass nature and so much of their thought process and musicality is … just very light mood. It’s not at all sad,” Ms. Bryant said.

“It’s just so much love, and speaks a lot about their virtue of that culture of that day, up until now.”

‘Very rich and exciting heritage’

Jim Tingen, owner of an accounting business and founder and coach at Augusta Diving Club, said he enjoyed the performance greatly.

“[I ] enjoy the program very much, enjoy the costumes, … the dance, the background,” he said, referring to the state-of-the art animated digital backdrops used with each dance piece that set the stage with scenes from celestial palaces and landscapes from different regions in China.

“They have a very rich and exciting heritage that they can perform,” Mr. Tingen said. “Very entertaining.”

With reporting by Frank Xie

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006