SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘Culture Is What Roots Us,’ Says Manager of Business Development

SHARE
‘Culture Is What Roots Us,’ Says Manager of Business Development
Manager of business development Troy Olsen attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Seattle's McCaw Hall, on April 8, 2023.Sunny Chen/The Epoch Times

SEATTLE—Manager of business development Troy Olsen “really enjoyed” Shen Yun Performing Arts at Seattle’s McCaw Hall on April 8.

He was impressed with the professional quality of Shen Yun. “I thought it was excellent. [It’s] the first time I’ve ever seen something like that. It was kind of nice to see some insights into the culture with a little bit of modern opinion.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture.

“I think it’s really important,” Olson said. “I think culture is what roots us. It’s where we get our base. So I think it’s really important.”

He said he learned much about Chinese culture from the performance. “Expressiveness, it was beautiful. It was easy to follow along.”

He could feel energy “from the people that created the show. I think it’s again, rooted in their culture and what they’re bringing out.”

Olsen said he liked the stories about divine beings. “It makes me want to learn more about the culture or read more about it.”

“I think the world should see it. Frankly, I think we should get to know everybody’s culture a little bit better,” he said.

Shen Yun’s music and live orchestra impressed Olsen.
“[It was] fantastic. It’s my favorite part. I was inspired. I loved that they incorporated the erhu. I loved the piano. I loved the singing. It was all great. The orchestra was outstanding.”
Olsen said use of the backdrop, into which some of the performers jump to fly around on the screen as the audience is transported into magical realms, was different.

“It was interesting, it was different. I was not expecting that at all. Don’t be offended: ‘A little Monty Python meets culture,’ which was kind of cool. But yes, it was the first time I’ve seen something like that.”

When asked if he would recommend Shen Yun to his friends, Olsen said, “Yes. I already have” and described Shen Yun as “a bucket list item.”

“Something you should do, something you should see. Because I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. And I really did.”

Traditional Values Give Consistency to Life, Says Researcher

Psychologist and researcher Jose Ramirez said Saturday night was his second time seeing Shen Yun. “I saw it in Japan just before COVID, in 2017 or 18. It was amazing. I really loved it, and ever since then, I wanted to see it again.”

This performance, Ramirez said, “was amazing. The dancing, the music, sort of the way they glide through the stage, it’s just wonderful. I loved it.”

His favorite scene was “Water Sleeves.” And in terms of the music, although he had never heard it played before, the erhu touched him the most.

“It just sort of made me feel that peace and calm. It was just very nice. It was very touching,” he said.

Ramirez said tradition is important to bring into the modern world. “I think very much so because it sort of holds us to where we started and where we go moving forward, to maintaining some sort of consistency in life.”
That Shen Yun is not allowed to perform in China saddened Ramirez. “I think it’s sad because I think it’s sort of an aspect of daily life throughout centuries. I think it’s very important to maintain our history and our knowledge of things.”
Ramirez felt energized from the performance.
“I feel like there’s a joy in their dancing and telling their story. I just think they’re just sort of very happy and proud to show just sort of their performances. I love that,” he said.
He noted the spiritual quality Shen Yun shared with the audience. “I loved it. I think it’s amazing. It sort of connects us to where we come from, where we are in terms of the cycle of life.”

Asked if he would recommend Shen Yun, Ramirez said, “I definitely would. In fact, I brought my sisters because I just wanted them to also experience the same thing.”

He described his experience as “enthusiastic, just sort of colorful, bright, sort of filled with just passion and joy for music. I love it.”

Reporting by Sunny Chen, Frank Zhang and  Yvonne Marcotte.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
Related Topics
shen yun
SHARE