NEW YORK—Photographer Peter Fol had difficulty not taking pictures during Shen Yun Performing Arts at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater on the evening of Sunday, April 28.

“It was so hard to leave the camera at my feet when all that beauty was on stage,” he said. “All the color, all the grace, all the movement—it was so beautiful!” 

Mr. Fol works at Island Photography in Bayside, N.Y., which photographs a range of events, such as graduation ceremonies and sports games.

Shen Yun traverses the globe to revive the divinely inspired 5,000 years of Chinese culture.

“Entirely non-profit, and independent of the Chinese regime, Shen Yun enjoys the artistic freedom of New York, enabling it to now bring these ancient traditions to the stage,” explains the company’s website. “Shen Yun and its mission have drawn top talent from around the world; many artists are winners of international competitions in dance, choreography, and music.”

Mr. Fol said that the unique Shen Yun Orchestra relaxed him.

“It makes me forget a lot of the every day rushing,” he said. “It allows me to rest and feel a little more peaceful. And my wife looked so beautiful while listening to that music.”

The orchestra is the first in the world to successfully meld classical Western instruments with traditional Chinese instruments.

The tickets were a gift from Mr. Fol to his wife, Kelly.

“We bought the tickets as soon as they were available, as soon as they went on sale,” he said. “We bought first row in the balcony, so we could see all the dancers and the orchestra from a little bit of a distance, to savor the music and the grace and the beauty of the performance.“

The Fols will not forget the performance anytime soon.

“It was absolutely magnificent tonight,” said Ms. Fol. “It will be one of the highlights of our life.” 

Reporting by NTD Television and Ryan Jeffries.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. The next performances in the northeastern United States are in Philadelphia May 3-5. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.