SALT LAKE CITY—Just as beauty is perceived differently from person to person, every audience member experiences Shen Yun Performing Arts differently. For Julie Lynch Schacht, her experience of the performance was a connection to her spirit. “When you come to a program like this with this much art, creativity, which comes from within, and you’re trying to present that to an audience—what’s happening is their spirit is touching my spirit, and I’m being fulfilled so that I can leave here a better person,” said Ms. Lynch Schacht, a genealogist and historian. She attended the performance with her cousin Cathy Jackson, a former marketing executive.
Shen Yun is based in New York and its
mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Ms.
Lynch Schacht was absolutely enthralled with the performance.
“This was the best money we’ve spent so far this year. It was outstanding. I loved it. Thank you so much for having us,” Ms. Lynch Schacht praised.
Ms.
Lynch Schacht has a deeper understanding of history than most audience members and she shared what she saw.
“I was enthralled with the show. I just really loved the flow of the history and the restoration of the history to show what real China was like. ... It illustrated the root of the Chinese dynasty belief. It was so magnificent and so on target with things that I have studied in ancient history,” Ms. Lynch Schacht said.
Among all of the artistry present on the stage, it was
erhu solo that spoke to Ms.
Lynch Schacht.
“The woman that played the two-string violin, she was magnificent. Her aura was brilliant. It was such a miracle to witness. It was about midway through, and when she was in the fast part, it was just amazing, and I was just filled with so much joy in here,” she said.
The erhu is an ancient instrument from China. It only has two strings and no fingerboard. Throughout its range, the erhu can emit an array of emotions.
“She and the instrument became one. The instrument became living, like part of her spirit. She was enthralled with the instrument. And all of a sudden, I could see her pure goodness and spirit outside of her body, and it was moving with the music. It was incredible,” Ms. Lynch Schacht said.
Shen Yun’s singers are trained in
bel canto technique and the digital backdrop provides a translation of the Chinese text being sung. Ms. Lynch shared that the music from the soprano and tenor also touched her spirit.
“The tenor and soprano and pianist—absolutely incredible. Their gifts touched my spirit ... This was magnificent. And the pianist was pretty amazing,” she said.
Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.
“Please tell the [artists] how grateful we are. I can’t even imagine the hours that the performers put into each day to be able to be in sync. They’re not just dancing the show—they are feeling it, they believe it is inside them in their spirit. I can see that they love what they do and they believe in what they’re doing,” Ms. Lynch Schacht said.
Ms. Jackson added that they attend arts events regularly, and what set
Shen Yun apart from the rest “is the message was very clear that they are pointing to a Creator.”
“That everything, everything we experience in this life and all gifts and everything we’re given came from a Creator, that we will reunite with again one day. And we will all go back to that Creator,” said Ms. Jackson, adding that Shen Yun conveyed this message not in a religious sense, but a universal one.
“And truth-based,” she added. “And these
performers embodied the body, the spirit. They embodied the music and their spirit through their dance and their musical abilities.”
“That crossed all cultural, racial, religious spectrums, boundaries. It just it spoke to the spirit,” Ms. Jackson said.
Reporting by Lily Yu and Maria Han.
