STAMFORD, Conn.—Harry Rilling, mayor of the city of Norwalk, and his wife, Lucia, experienced Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Palace Theatre on May 10.
“It just makes you feel good. When you see people’s culture, it makes you feel closer to them. When we start to respect each other and realize that we may be a little bit different, but we’re more the same—that’s when, I think, things will start to get better in the world.”
The couple especially enjoyed Shen Yun’s 3D projections that combined live action on stage with the animations in the background.
“They take you far away with the movie screen in the background. It was very interesting how they did the real versus the cinematic—how they blended that,” Mrs. Rilling expressed.
Mr. Rilling added: “I liked the whole idea about the screen in the back where somebody jumps down and suddenly flies up on the screen. It’s just really amazing. Very well done.”
“We all are one, and we’re here for a period of time, and then we go back to where we came from. It’s like a cycle.”
He would like to tell the performers that “they’ve done a wonderful job.”
“I look at them, and I’m just in awe. I’m amazed at how well they’ve performed. They really look like they’re enjoying themselves.”
Regarding the company’s mission, Mr. Rilling stated: “[The performance] really takes you back. I think it’s great to see what it used to be and how things were in Chinese culture. I feel very strongly that people should always think about their culture, where they came from, their ancestors, what they bring to this country, and what they bring to the world.”
He found it very sad that Shen Yun is currently banned by the Chinese Communist Party because “Chinese people are missing a lot.”
“People in China need something like this. They need [Shen Yun] to remind them of who they are, where they came from, their world.”
