EL PASO, Texas—Paul Cicala, a reporter and news anchor, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Plaza Theatre on Feb. 15.
“I had a great impression,” Mr. Cicala said. “I love the storytelling portion of it, but the fact that they’re telling it through actions and dance and the flexibility that they have ... It was very enjoyable.”
“I think the effort’s great,” Mr. Cicala said of Shen Yun’s mission. “I think it’s great because I’m learning a little bit more about it as well. ... I think it’s great that they continue to keep the culture going.”
Mr. Cicala felt that the depiction of the persecution served as a reminder that “sometimes the freedoms that we take for granted [can be] taken away from us.”
“It was inspiring to know that at least there’s less of a chance of something like that happening to me in the country that I live in,” he said. “I think it’s great that people can utilize the arts to stand up for what they believe in.”
“In this case, there are people that have actually been persecuted. So to bring those experiences and to be able to share them with people, share those experiences with people here in this portion of the United States, I think it only benefits us as a society because I think you could learn a thing or two by studying and seeing things from other people’s culture or their history or the backgrounds. ... To me, it gives me even more respect for all the dancers and entertainers that make their way through that show and through the United States on tour.”
“We appreciate them telling their stories with us so we can also continue to be thankful for what we have, and for not being persecuted here in the country that I live in,” he said.“I respect anybody that’s ever dealt with adversity in life. ... To be able to see somebody coming from a regime in this sense that perhaps they didn’t get to be who they were or what they wanted to do and to come over here and express it in the form of art, to me it’s even more inspirational.”
