SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Shows That ‘Goodness and Divinity Shines Through All the Time, No Matter What,’ Says Theatergoer

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Shen Yun Shows That ‘Goodness and Divinity Shines Through All the Time, No Matter What,’ Says Theatergoer
Priscilla Restaino and Erica Lesak attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts’ Mahaffey Theater on March 30, 2023. (Nancy Ma/The Epoch Times)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—One of the many unique things about Shen Yun Performing Arts is its all-new program every year. On March 30, returning audience members Erica Lesak, a youth minister, and Priscilla Restaino, a retired business owner, watched Shen Yun once again at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts Mahaffey Theater and were delighted by the 2023 program.

“It was amazing! It was absolutely beautiful,” said Ms. Lesak, who added that they would definitely be returning again next year.

Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now with eight equally sized companies touring the world simultaneously, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China.

Ms. Lesak said that she was inspired by “the heart of the people; that they want to keep this going and to share their story with the world. I think it’s amazing that they’re doing that. Because otherwise, I wouldn’t know about it!”

“Don’t you think it was a little different [this year]?” Ms. Lesak asked Ms. Restaino, and the two women concurred that Shen Yun’s new program was more spiritually inspiring this season.

Ms. Lesak shared that what she found spiritual was that “the communists could take away things from the people, but they can’t take away their spirit [and] what’s in their heart.”

“It was uplifting to say, even though there is bad in the world, the good shines through,” added Ms. Restaino.

Ms. Lesak also found spiritual elements in other aspects of Shen Yun’s performance.
“The color of the background was yellow and glowing, and I think that signifies Divinity,” she said. “And I think they did a great job with the costumes … their graceful costumes kind of reminded me of angels in the end.”
“It seemed like they (Shen Yun) really wanted people to understand the history of the culture and communism and how it tried to ruin the people and the religion and that … goodness and Divinity shines through all the time, no matter what.”
According to Shen Yun’s website, the foundations of traditional Chinese culture are deeply embedded in the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Both Ms. Lesak and Ms. Restaino felt that these spiritual elements in Chinese culture are relevant to the modern world. The women shared that in their opinion,  “the problem in the world today” is that many people aren’t spiritual right now.
Ms. Lesak said that Shen Yun’s performance might prompt audience members to look at the spirituality in Chinese culture “in a different way, and maybe look for their own spirituality.”

Finally, both women also expressed their admiration for Shen Yun’s dancers.

“They’re just beautiful!” Ms. Resaino exclaimed.

“I wish I could dance like that!” said Ms. Lesak. “The dedication that it must take to dance in that manner—I really admire that. It’s a true art form.”

Reporting by Nancy Ma and Wandi Zhu.

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

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