SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Reminds Us That There Was a Culture Before Communism,’ Says Professor

Apr 09, 2023

NEW YORK—Distinguished professor of law Sam Estreicher has authored more than 200 scholarly articles and a dozen books and served on committees, including the UN’s Internal Justice Commission. He attended Shen Yun Performing Arts, knowing the performing arts group was formed by Chinese artists of faith who fled human rights abuses back in China.

“I know that Falun Gong, these problems in China, and dancing is beautiful. I wish China would be free of communism,” he said at the April 9 evening performance at Lincoln Center.

Falun Gong is a spiritual practice that was made public in China in the early 1990s and targeted violently by the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution campaigns.

“I feel for the Chinese people. I feel for them,” he said.

Shen Yun, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, is based in New York. Since 2006 it has taken the mission of reviving 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the arts.

“It’s definitely a different image of China,” Mr. Estreicher said. “It reminds us that there was a culture before communism.”

Arik Braude enjoyed Shen Yun at Lincoln Center, in New York City, on April 9. 2023. (Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times) — Arik Braude enjoyed Shen Yun at Lincoln Center, in New York City, on April 9. 2023. Weiyong Zhu/The Epoch Times

Arik Braude, a violinist who teaches at CUNY and Mannes, was also aware of the Shen Yun artists’ faith and mission. He had taught some of the violinists who now perform with Shen Yun’s eight touring groups.

“The orchestra is incredible. They are all giving their absolute best, and it’s wonderful to see them. It’s really wonderful,” he said. “For them, maybe playing music is kind of a way of their spirituality as opposed to just playing so you play good. So it’s to express their spirituality. I think it certainly helps them to achieve a very high level.”

“I think it’s all very spiritual. It’s based on spiritual things,” he said of the traditional Chinese culture. “That’s why it’s so good.”

“They are in incredible level. They are incredible,” he said.

Steven Arenson, who heads a law firm, attended the performance with his family. He felt the artists’ faith through their art as well.

“There’s an ability of the human being to transcend the physical. So even in the dance, you see the dancers are transcending the limitations of the normal human body. They’re jumping, they’re leaping, they’re stretching, and they are going beyond what we can do in everyday life. So its very uplifting. I think that’s the word that captures everything: its uplifting. Physically and spiritually.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Weiyong Zhu and Frank Liang.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.