ATLANTA—Naturopathic doctors Rob and Pam DeBease experienced Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time on Feb. 1, and spoke of an “unbelievable beauty” they witnessed in the artists’ revival of traditional culture.
“I think it’s absolutely beautiful. The artistic quality of the dancers is something I’ve never personally experienced before,” said Mr. DeBease after seeing the
performance at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. “This is like this unbelievable beauty, and it tells this incredible story, and some parts of it connect you to the divine. It’s amazing.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a
mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through music and dance.
Before communism, China was a place known by names such as the “land of the Divine” or the “Celestial Empire.” The ancient Chinese held their
culture to be divinely inspired, a gift from the heavens, and the Debeases felt this was beautifully conveyed through the art.
“That was so beautiful for me. Like obviously the dancing is beautiful, but the story behind it all and how they give you the impetus behind it, and then you get to see it and the creativity and the aesthetics is everything,” said Mrs. DeBease.
Mr. Debease said the music of Shen Yun, composed in-house anew each season and performed live by Shen Yun’s unique orchestras blending East and West, contributed to the delivery of this divinely inspired culture.
“It’s beautiful, it’s ethereal almost. Definitely has that traditional vibe to it,” he said.
Mrs. DeBease said it was emotional for her to learn that although
Shen Yun performs around the world, it cannot go to China, where the Chinese communist regime has sought to destroy traditional Chinese culture over its 75-year rule.
The DeBeases said they thought it “invaluable” that Shen Yun sought to revive
traditional culture because it was very relevant to the modern world.
“Nowadays, we get so involved in the physical aspect of life, and we forget when we die and we drop these bodies here on this planet, there’s a whole other world after that,” Mr. DeBease said. “So we should pay attention and be focused to the afterlife and make this world almost a preparation so we can be our best selves for that.”
Reporting by Frank Liang and Catherine Yang.
