PITTSBURGH, Pa.—Michael Healy, a philosophy professor, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Benedum Center for the Performing Arts on April 27.
Mr. Healy shared that he teaches a philosophy of religion course where he covers elements of Chinese history and beliefs, such as the spiritual and moral teachings of Confucius and Lao Tzu.
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. China was once a country that flourished in art, culture, and spirituality, yet much of those elements were destroyed or abolished when the atheist Chinese Communist Party seized power in 1949.
Many of Shen Yun’s founders and performers experienced oppression and even persecution for their beliefs in China, and were forced to flee their homeland. Since its inception in 2006, Shen Yun’s mission has been to revive traditional Chinese culture and to share the beauty of “China before communism.”
Mr. Healy said that he had already read about the persecution and the destruction of Chinese culture before he saw Shen Yun.“I think it’s one of the most abominable things in the history of the human race,” he said. “The way this beautiful culture and tradition was stomped on in a really beastly fashion. It’s one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the world.”
Mr. Healy feels that although Shen Yun’s performance focuses on China, it is relevant to other cultures in modern society as well.
“Some of the same kinds of persecution goes on against many different religions, many different traditions that point back to a transcendent origin, a transcendent end, that this world and success in it and economics is not the whole story of human life,” he said.
“The human love and family and culture and country and beauty and religion—it all goes much deeper than just day-to-day grinded out economics.”
Mr. Healy also strongly recommended Shen Yun to others, highlighting elements such as Shen Yun’s handmade costumes and patented animated backdrop.
“I would recommend this show 100 percent; it’s worth every penny,” he said. “The costumes and the wonderful coordination with the background screen—I don’t know how [they] do that, but it’s really worth it. I would encourage everybody to see this.”
