WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Jan. 26, Steve Jennings, executive director of Teens Opposing Poverty, attended Shen Yun’s evening performance at The Kennedy Center Opera House with his wife, Susan, an accountant, and daughter Lindsay.
The family purchased tickets after seeing “fantastic dancing displays” in the advertisements. Mr. Jennings said happily after a performance that “didn’t disappoint.”
Seamlessly blending the grandeur of a Western orchestra with the ethereal beauty of Chinese melodies, the musicians produce a profound emotional range that captures the depth of the human experience.
“It was an awesome show. There were a lot of different things that you could see and experience. It was just awesome,” she said.
Ms. Lindsay Jennings chimed in that she loved learning about a different culture and said, “It’s really nice to experience all of it at once. The visuals were gorgeous.”
“It’s just really interesting to be able to use art to learn about different belief systems and religious persecutions that you weren’t aware of,” she said, referring to the story dance piece that raises awareness about the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of people of faith.
Mr. Jennings, too, said the spirituality portrayed in the show offered perspective.
“The common values of truth and compassion and forbearance—as Christians, that’s really at the heart of who we are—to forgive others and to be long-suffering as the scripture says. You see that commonality in so many faiths. There is tolerance of others and kindness and compassion at the root of it all.”
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