BOSTON—Joan Quinn Eastman, producer and former broadcaster, has 25 years experience in the media, and is known as a “connect worker.” On Dec. 28, she found in Shen Yun Performing Arts the tremendous power of connection.
When the curtains drew open, and she saw a scene flooded with color, the image of the Creator, and the divinely inspired origins of 5,000 years of China before communism, she leaned over to whisper to her Christian friend, “looks like Christmas to me.”
She said the message she perceived was that “we are all connected, that we must have faith and rise above our fears, and stand fearlessly for what we believe in, and in this particular case it’s the stand against Communism and stand for freedom and it’s a message that the United States could really take to heart right now, and learn from what’s happened in China.”
“How the spiritual messaging is universal to all beliefs, no matter what you believe, but we all divine within, we are spiritual, we all connected and that’s what so important,” she said. “This is truly a gift that you’re sharing—magnificent performance. All of these young people are so extraordinary! They’re so athletic and skilled and precise in their expressions and their movements so graceful, so beautiful, really really glad I made it.”
“It was electric and we’re three rows back from the front so I could actually see the expressions of every one of the performers, I was able to study every one of them, it’s a magnificent troupe. And you can see that they work together with such precision and such skill it’s a magnificent thing to behold, it really is,” she said.
“The colors, the music, the synchronicity, the precision with which all the dancers move is truly phenomenal. The level of skill is astonishing, and it’s a wonderful example of how people can realize their potential,” Ms. Eastman said.
She shared her appreciation for the performers: “It’s such a gift for them to share their gift with us, the grace, the beauty, the music, the stories, the suffering, the persecution, it’s wonderful that you are keeping your culture alive and sharing it with the world because it is so enriching.”