BALTIMORE—Becarren Schultz thought the ability of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ performers was such that they made the two hours of music and dance seem effortless.
“I thought that the show was amazing because, first of all, the performers made it look like it was the easiest thing in the world to do. And there was just such a symbiotic loveliness about the way they all move together,” said Ms. Schultz, a vice president for a global market research group. She and Ryan McGraw, who is in the construction business, enjoyed
Shen Yun at The Hippodrome Theatre on March 15.
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through
music and
dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.
“It was wonderful. I loved the music. The orchestra was amazing. I didn’t realize that the live orchestra was right there, but then it made sense. That was a very big part of it,” Ms. Schultz added. “I think that the orchestra brought it to life in a way that you don’t see in most shows. It was wonderful.”
Mr. McGraw also loved the
music, adding praise specifically for a few soloists, as well as the oboe in the orchestra.
“I loved the oboe,” he said, adding he wouldn’t mind if there was more. “It was really, really, good.”
“The soprano singer, the notes that she had was breathtaking,” Mr. McGraw said.
Ms. Schultz said the artists had been incredible, and their work important.
“I think the ability for art to be able to
transcend government and the lockdown that they have on trying to get people to stop expressing themselves, I think an artist’s ability to keep it alive is very important,” she said, referencing the fact that Shen Yun cannot perform in China today, where religious believers are still subject to persecution by the Chinese communist regime.
“It makes me reflect that it’s interesting that the show comes to America to be able to do something they can’t do there,” Mr. McGraw added.
Ms. Schultz said she felt Shen Yun conveyed a
message of standing up for what you believe in.
“Every year, every decade, every era, people have to fight for what they believe in. And at the end, I think we saw that the people came together because there was a spirit that helped them transcend all the sadness. So. I would just say, you have to keep fighting for what you believe in,” she said.
Reporting by Frank Liang and Catherine Yang.
