STAMFORD, Conn.—Mark Goldenberg, a physician, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Palace Theatre on March 8.
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Since its inception, Shen Yun has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour around the world simultaneously, reviving traditional Chinese culture and showcasing the beauty of “China before communism.”
When the Chinese Communist Party seized power in 1949, it replaced the spiritual foundation of traditional Chinese culture with its own atheist ideologies. Shen Yun depicts the spiritual elements of Chinese culture, and it is for this reason that the performance cannot be seen in China.“I’m very sad that this beautiful music and the Chinese customs have been eliminated [by] the current Chinese government,” Mr. Goldenberg said. “It’s just terrible that this rich culture is not able to be expressed in their own homeland ... The art, the culture, the music, the people—people don’t realize the beauty of the Chinese people.“
Mr. Goldenberg said that he saw a lot of similarities between China’s folk stories and stories from other cultures.
Mr. Goldenberg felt “uplifted, hopeful, [and] happy” while watching Shen Yun, and highly recommended the performance to those who have not yet seen it.
“Absolutely come see the show,” he said. “If you have love of music, love of dance, love of beauty, love of culture, love of art, this has it all.”
