SPOKANE, Wash.—Pastor Ron Torres and his wife, Jan, drove for hours to attend Shen Yun Performing Arts’ opening show in Spokane on March 8, celebrating both their 53rd wedding anniversary and Mrs. Torres’ birthday.
Exiting the First Interstate Center for the Arts at the end of the evening, the couple said Shen Yun was well worth the trip.
“We didn’t know that every year there’s a new production and there’s eight [companies performing] at the same time. That’s just phenomenal.”
Endowed with 5,000 years of history, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine.” For millenniums, its people believed that by keeping their hearts pure and adhering to strict moral standards, they will be blessed by the divine.
Mrs. Torres thought the artists’ message came through loud and clear. “I loved it. I loved it. I said we’re going to come and have our hearts warmed, and we did,” she said.
My takeaway is “just the beauty of what they did and the excellence of what they did. It made me think about our Lord and Savior. It was gorgeous. Very positive message. Very, very positive.”
“Different cultures around the world have their particular take, but the basis of the message is still [the same.] It’s about a redeemer,” he explained.
“Even though the Bible may have been written later in some aspects, the root message is still the same. There is a Creator— a redeemer that comes and defeats all the wicked evil in the world and good triumphs.”
Though Shen Yun is beloved around the world, due to the artists’ focus on reviving traditional culture and presenting the truth of events under communist rule in present-day China, it is currently forbidden by the regime from performing in China.
Mr. Torres is very supportive of Shen Yun’s mission and thought the performers’ message about truth and compassion is really important for the world today because “a lot of people who have been overwhelmed … stood up and said, ‘There’s a better way.’”
“I would hope that something of this message would give people hope to look for the right thing in their own countries, their own communities, and get involved with it. Make it work,” he said.
For its 2025 touring season, Shen Yun’s eight equally-sized companies will be performing in over 200 cities across five continents. Met with wide acclaim since its establishment in 2006, the company can be expected to return each year with a brand-new set of choreography and musical compositions.
