CHICAGO—“Very impressive, it’s quite different from the things that I’ve seen before,” said George Migala, 1450 AM WCEV radio broadcaster and general manager, about Shen Yun Performing Arts performance, which he saw at Chicago’s Civic Opera House.
“I am very pleased that we decided to come to see it because it is so different for us. It’s a new experience,” he said.
Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. According to the Shen Yun website, “Classical Chinese dance has helped preserve 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Built on traditional aesthetics, it was once passed down among the people, in imperial courts, and through ancient plays.”
Mr. Migala observed this vast and independent system of dance, which requires strict training in both physical expression and specific postures. “It’s very precise the dancers are obviously very well-trained and talented, and the history that it presents is, of course, interesting,” he said.
Another impressive feature for Mr. Migala was the hundreds of originally designed and handmade costumes. He said, “Well, the costumes, of course, the costumes are great.”
The performance left a “very positive impression” on this radio personality.
“Shen Yun draws top artists from around the world. With a passion for the classical arts, they join Shen Yun in its mission to revive a culture that was once almost lost,” states the company’s website.
“The stories that each segment told leads you on to the various segments of Chinese culture and history, as it were, from the creation at the beginning, and then the various pieces that followed, and I found it very interesting.”
“China was once known as Shen Zhou—The Divine Land. This profound name … where deities and mortals coexisted, and a belief that the divine transmitted a rich culture to the people of the earth,” states the company’s website.
“The spirituality of the performances, the culture, and history are very much in line with the philosophies of other cultures on this planet, universal. There is no really advanced culture on this planet that does not recognize a deity and honor it in some fashion, so it’s only appropriate that Chinese culture and history have that element in it also,” he said.
Reporting by Teresa You and Cat Rooney
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
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.
