‘People Need to Come See the Performance!’ Dallas Audience Amazed by Shen Yun
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Sgt. Elvis Wells and his wife, Don Wells at the Winspear Opera House, in Dallas, on Jan. 14, 2023. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
DALLAS—Elvis Wells, a police sergeant in Dallas, and his wife, Don Wells, a certified medical assistant, were amazed by the beauty and spiritual depth of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Seated in the front of the auditorium at the Winspear Opera House on Jan. 14, a two-show day, the Wellses said they had been waiting to see Shen Yun for a long time.
“This is the first opportunity we got to go to this show,” said Sgt. Wells at the sold-out matinee performance. “People need to come see the performance!”
Mrs. Wells was thoroughly impressed with the performance. “I thought it was beautiful … the choreography is really nice, the colors are beautiful and the stories are great,” she said.
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern-day.
One of Shen Yun’s unique features is its orchestra. It’s the first in the world to permanently combine classical Western and Chinese instruments within a Western orchestra. The production also boasts virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the bel canto style.
“The live music … is very well put together,” said Sgt. Wells, “the gentleman that sang baritone—just phenomenal!”
Sgt. Wells was amazed by the company’s patented method of integrating a 3-D animated backdrop with the stage performance. It allows the performers to travel remarkably back and forth between the stage and the background projection.
Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, a meditation and spiritual discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
“I think the part about the persecution that’s taking place in China was very moving for me,” said Sgt. Wells, “being a former military person myself, I have been stationed near countries that were near communist regimes and so I know what happens there to the people.”
‘The World Is Going to Be a Better Place’
Bill Anderson and his wife Diane Anderson at the Winspear Opera House, in Dallas, on Jan. 14. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
Cattle rancher Bill Anderson and his wife Diane Anderson, a retired human resource manager, were visiting from South Dakota and saw Shen Yun at the Winspear Opera House, in Dallas, on the afternoon of Jan. 14.
Mrs. Anderson was deeply moved and inspired by the inner meanings and messages she experienced in the Shen Yun performance.
“You could hear it, you could see it … the words and the inner meaning that was conveyed … the world’s going to be a better place,” she said.
“The world is changing … we came here to save the world—all of us—and we, together, are changing,” she added, “God’s having a big impact on what’s going be happening here in the near future.”
China was once known as “The Land of the Divine” and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdom’s Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the company’s website.
The Andersons felt peace and warmth after seeing the performance, and Mr. Anderson was encouraged by the “warm love that’s going to come.”
“There is so much evil in the world—it’s evil versus good—and God wins,” said Mrs. Anderson, “and good is going to prevail and it’s transitioning slowly, but you could hear the messages that were being sent.”
Commenting on Shen Yun’s live orchestra that plays original compositions to accompany the dances, Mr. Anderson said, “there were moments there where you could feel the tingles up the back of your neck … your hair standing up.”
Reporting by Sally Sun, Sonia Wu, and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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