PORTLAND, Ore.—Sometimes, it takes a special occasion to get out to enjoy a wonderful performance. Michael and Carolyn Brewer came to Shen Yun Performing Arts as a celebration of their anniversary.
“We wanted actually to come for the last two years. It’s our wedding anniversary. So we finally made it happen this year,” said Mrs. Brewer.
“I think traditions are extremely important. My wife and I very firmly believe that certain things need to be done and held on to over time—preserved. Because traditions are our foundations, and we need to embrace those. To do otherwise is to lose your culture,” said Mr. Brewer, who works in government finance.
A loss of culture is exactly what China went through when the Chinese communist party (CCP) took power. The CCP systematically destroyed and distorted Chinese culture and replaced it with communist party culture.
“I despise that. The freedom of culture should be something that should be encouraged across the world unless the tradition itself is something that’s grotesque or dehumanizes people and there’s nothing about this that dehumanizes people, so [Shen Yun] is something that should be encouraged, and shown to the world,” said Mr. Brewer.
Shen Yun is touring around the world, sharing the beauty of Chinese culture, but Shen Yun cannot perform in China.
“It’s heartbreaking what’s happening today and very awe-inspiring that people are still trying to bring this alive and facing dire consequences for doing so,” said Mrs. Brewer.
As a father, Mr. Brewer shared that he respects the passion that Shen Yun’s artists have for what they do because he also hopes that his children will also find a passion to pursue in life.
“I would definitely encourage them to continue to pursue this with all the passion they can muster. I’ve talked to my kids about finding a passion in life and pursuing that passion with extreme focus and so I think I would encourage the performers to do the same because this is beautiful,” he said.
Shen Yun’s resident choreographers specialize in classical Chinese dance and Chinese ethnic and folk dances.
“I love the choreography. I was actually just telling my wife I’m always impressed by professional choreography. I love watching it. Poetry in motion,” said Mr. Brewer.
“I grew up doing ballet. And what I love about this particular performance is how different it is from like European ballet. But it’s very unique from anything I’ve ever seen before,” said Mrs. Brewer.
“I would encourage my friends to come for about three reasons,” he said.
“First and foremost, exposure to something new. Most of my friends don’t attend performing arts. And I think [Shen Yun] would be very beneficial for them, just for enjoyment,” said Mr. Brewer.
“Secondly, I would encourage them to come for the cultural exposure. Most people in America don’t leave America. So we have our own culture to look at, but we don’t know what the rest of the world is like,” Mr. Brewer continued.
“And thirdly, I think it’s very educational. And so I like the expansion of knowledge,” he concluded.
