VANCOUVER—Retired business owner Allen Mogus and his wife Cathy, a freelance writer published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts together at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on April 4.
Exiting the matinee, Mr. Mogus said the performance was “spectacular.”
“Words cannot describe the joy of coming. First time, beyond imagination, beyond expectation. Absolutely the most wonderful expression of human effort,” he said.
The New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.
For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.
A devout Christian, Mr. Mogus was pleased to see traditional spiritual values reflected in the performance. They closely align with his own beliefs.
Mrs. Mogus, too, enjoyed the matinee and appreciated how Shen Yun “gave a really good explanation of the Chinese culture.”
“That’s very helpful,” she said. “Just the beauty of everything—I love the way it was coordinated. The choreography—everything’s perfect. … A lot of work goes into that.”
She found the program inspiring, filled with hope and “the power of freedom.” “It’s a good way to show the difference” between traditional China and communist China, she added.
“This does not come easy. Great effort for all that was performed. Everyone. It was a great effort,” he shared. “We’re grateful to have this experience today. It’s very, very rewarding. Rewarding of a life experience beyond imagination.”
“One cannot describe to other people. All people must see Shen Yun in order to believe and understand.”
