WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.— Gale Nemec and her sister Joy Werner attended Shen Yun’s April 16 performance at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. “I thought the show was absolutely magnificent,” Ms. Nemec said.

Ms. Nemec, a producer, actress, and writer, was particularly moved by the dance The Steadfast Lotus, which tells the modern-day story of a mother and daughter in China. They are separated when police take away the mother for practicing Falun Gong, a meditation practice that the communist regime has persecuted since 1999.

“It made me cry. It was so beautiful, and it was so well-done,” said Ms. Nemec, who writes children’s books and spiritual books.

She also spoke about the visual elements of Shen Yun, including the digital projected backdrop. The backdrop sets the stage, and the performers interact with it. “[It] was just beautiful with the actors, the dancers going offstage and then all of a sudden, they’re flying away, and then coming back. It was gorgeous!” she said.

Ms. Nemec also enjoyed the costumes—“the colors, the cobalt blue, and the greens, and the golds”—and how the dance movements and costumes enhanced one another. “It was beautiful! I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to have seen it,” she said.

Calmness and Peace

Joy Werner had wanted to see Shen Yun in New York, but missed the show. Now living in Florida, she had the opportunity when the company came to West Palm Beach.

“Spectacular, it was absolutely beautiful,” Ms. Werner said. The performance brought her a calmness and peace and touched her heart, she said. Now retired, Ms. Werner worked in senior management in the insurance industry.

“The colors, the costumes, the fabrics—the art of it all is just impeccable, the flowing of the fabrics, everybody in unison, just spectacular,” Ms. Werner said.

“For 5,000 years divine culture flourished in the land of China,” Shen Yun’s website states. The traditional culture was nearly lost under decades of communist rule, but through music and dance, Shen Yun is bringing back this ancient culture.

Reporting by Edie Bassen and Nicholas Zifcak

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.