“It reconnects me to the spiritual foundation of Chinese medicine, and that’s partly why I come back every year,” said Mr. Gaeta, who founded The Gaeta Institute.
“It’s always a very uplifting and beautiful experience that reminds me of a kind of an ancient memory of heaven,” he said.
“I’m also a musician, so I appreciate the mastery of the musicians and the compositions, and it’s very uplifting and inspiring. It’s like a beacon of light in the world,” Mr. Gaeta added.
Kirsten Boedecker, a jewelry designer and founder of KIR Collection, said the experience was “incredible.”
“It’s a feast for the eyes,” Ms. Boedecker said. “It’s so interesting to learn about the different cultures and the different regions and the oppression of communism.”
“I hope it works,” Ms. Boedecker said of Shen Yun’s mission.
“The authoritarian system is just not viable for peace on our planet,” she said.
“It’s really a representation of divine being in people,” he said of the traditional Chinese culture on display in Shen Yun.
Rich Rubel, who works in the sweets industry and was the former marketing director for a major confectionary company, appreciated the preservation of culture.
“Chinese culture, recently of course, has been so sublimated by, I guess, the communist takeover there. By nature, it is one directional—being stated ‘this is what your culture’s going to be.’ And the culture is so much deeper than just that,” he said.
Mr. Gaeta walked away from the performance with a profound experience, calling Shen Yun’s message hopeful. “The message is very hopeful that there is a divine presence in the world and a divine presence in us that’s seeking to come out.”
