PORTLAND, Ore.—As attorneys, Bob Maloney and Sheila Blackford are experts when it comes to discerning the parameters of law.

On Jan. 19, they were more than happy to oblige in offering their highest opinions of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Keller Auditorium in Portland.

“Beautiful talented, very athletic dancers—very talented,” said Ms. Blackford, who attended the show with Mr. Maloney and Dorothy Heflin.

Ms. Blackford, who works for the Oregon State Bar, has written many articles that frequently appear in legal publications, including the Oregon State Bar Bulletin, In Brief, Law Practice Magazine, Law Practice TODAY, and LTN Law Technology News.

She was especially touched by the Shen Yun performers’ genuine depiction of classical Chinese dance. “It’s been really, really beautiful,” she said. “Very good dancing.”

“Vibrant colors, vibrant colors—beautiful ladies,” added Ms. Heflin, who owns a management consulting firm, Trinity Sales.

Classical Chinese dance is rich with expressive power, and through such expression it utilizes bearing, form, and technical skill to bring out inner meaning, feelings, values, and the peculiarities of human nature.

Mr. Maloney, who has 40 years of courtroom experience in addition to being the former president of the Oregon Federal Bar Association and the Oregon Association of Defense Counsel, sensed the profound cultural undertones rooted in Shen Yun.

He took special note of “the importance of dance and religious beliefs in the Chinese culture for the last 5,000 years, and how it has gone through that process with beautiful scenery, dragons, and other things that are wonderful to view and to enjoy.”

Shen Yun seeks to revive 5,000 years of divine Chinese culture, a culture that was nearly wiped out under 60 years of communist rule in China. By way of this culture, “Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution, all come to life,” according to She Yun’s website.

The presentation of such principles through Shen Yun therefore gives audience members a rare glimpse into a divine world where heaven and earth are one.

For Mr. Maloney, Shen Yun was the opportunity to undertake “an interesting cultural experience that we can share with China,” he said.

“I’m just interested in the culture and the beauty of China,” he added.

Reporting by Fany Qiu and Michael Fitzgerald.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.