HOUSTON—James Englehardt, a local business owner, and Katie Englehardt enjoyed the beauty of Shen Yun Performing Arts, seeing it for the first time at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston on Dec. 26, and it wasn’t lost on them that the performance could not be shown in all countries around the world.
“I like the message, the freedom of them to be able to express it here,” said Mr. Englehardt.
New York-based
Shen Yun was formed in 2006 by a group of artists who had fled religious persecution in China under the communist regime. Today, the performing arts company has become the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company with eight equally-sized groups that tour the world simultaneously, bringing a performance of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to around 1 million audience members each year.
Shen Yun visits about 200 cities a year, but none of them are in China.
“They have the freedom to express this here, and they can’t do it back in China,” said Mr. Englehardt, noting that it had to do with Shen Yun’s expression of
spiritual themes and stories that take place in China today.
Traditional Chinese culture is a spiritual culture, tied to principles and morals from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The ancient Chinese believed their
culture was divinely inspired, whereas the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that is in power today preaches atheism.
Shen Yun’s story-based dances included themes like the battle between good and evil and divine intervention, even in the stories set in modern-day China, often portraying people of faith overcoming adversity in the communist nation.
For Mr. Englehardt, these were universal themes that have always been relevant in society, but also what precluded them from being able to perform in China under communist rule. Calling out the Chinese
communist regime’s human rights abuses and persecution of people of faith has long been a pain point for the regime, and Shen Yun’s ability to raise awareness to millions has resulted in the arts company being blacklisted in China.
“Very significant,” Mr. Englehardt said.
Mrs. Englehardt agreed. “It brings it to attention, because I don’t think many people realize that it’s ongoing still,” she said.
Reporting by Frank Liang and Catherine Yang.
