ROSEMONT, Ill.— Fire Chief Michael Pavlovic and his son Mickey, a student, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts’ evening show on April 26 at the Rosemont Theatre. By intermission, the duo was already certain they had made a great decision in coming.
Endowed with 5,000 years of history, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine.” For millennia, its people believed that by keeping their hearts pure and adhering to strict moral standards, they would be blessed by the divine.
Mr. Pavlovic couldn’t agree more with this mission. He loved the culture and spiritual depth that was displayed throughout the performance.
“I am just amazed at how every dancer is in sync, and they’re like mirror images of each other. The costumes are so elegant, and everything is just amazing,” he said.
“The depth, it’s so fulfilling. It really just shows the background and nurturing of the tradition with the people to pass it on and have it survive these thousands of years.”
“It’s really interesting,” Mr. Pavlovic said. “In the last song, [the lyrics were] talking [about] the Creator, and just how so many things are symbols from above into our current world. ... [Our life on earth] is only temporary and [we’ll] attain a much bigger prize and meaning of life afterwards.”
Reflecting on the artists’ story-based dance raising awareness of ongoing human rights issues in present-day China, Mickey said Shen Yun represented the beauty of faith perfectly.
Though Shen Yun is well-beloved by audiences around the world, it is currently forbidden by the ruling Chinese regime from performing in China. In fact, many of the company’s founding members had fled to America to escape persecution by the communist party.
“I think it’s amazing what [Shen Yun is] doing, trying to bring [traditional culture] back, keep it alive—even through all the oppressiveness from the communist party ... I love how [they] do it through dance and music, too,” he said.
“It represents how, even though people can be so cruel to other people and be so oppressive, humanity can still overcome that. [The performance shows] the resilience of us, and how we can push through, even through hard times.”
