Shen Yun, ‘So Much Accomplishment and Joy,’ Financial Consultant Says
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Bimal and Priti Radia at the Wortham Center Brown Theater, Houston, March 27, 2022. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
HOUSTON, Texas—In an age where human moral values have declined dramatically and the expression of free speech has been restricted, even in Western democracies, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts brought a message of optimism to those at the Wortham Center Brown Theater on Sunday.
Enjoying Shen Yun that afternoon were Priti Radia, a Montessori teacher, and her husband, Bimal Radia, who works in financial consulting.
“It is very different from the recent Chinese culture because now we know the original culture and it’s beautiful, and it resonates with us—the compassion, the pursuit of art and also so much accomplishment and joy,” Mr. Radia said.
“[The performers are] extremely well trained and they are all such good high-level artists,” he said.
“There is not a single flaw I saw—impeccable moves,” Mrs. Radia said.
‘Message of Hope’
Michael Shawiak, an insurance financial services underwriter, said that he had a new perspective on life after watching Shen Yun.
“I definitely think [Shen Yun] is educational … you see everything from ancient Chinese dancing to contemporary modern dance,” he said.
After learning that Chinese culture has a history of 5,000 years, Mr. Shawiak said he now had a different worldview.
The company’s aim is to revive the traditional Chinese culture in its true original form. Since the Chinese communist regime came to power, China’s spiritual culture has been all but destroyed.
“I got the message of hope,” said Mr. Shawiak, after seeing “The Display of Great Compassion,” the story about the battle between good and evil where everyone makes their own choice in life.
The ancient Chinese believed that their culture was divinely inspired and that heavenly beings and mortals once co-existed. Thus, the morals and values that have been passed down have always been an intrinsic part of Chinese culture.
“The dance was awesome … extremely well-choreographed. The music was wonderful. The full orchestra—live—is beautiful,” Mr. Shawiak said.
Besides its unique orchestra which presents a combination of classical Western and traditional Eastern instruments, Shen Yun’s repertoire includes vocalists who sing Chinese text using the bel canto technique.
Mr. Shawiak was fascinated by the lyrics of one of the performances of a Shen Yun vocalist.
“I think when the gentleman sang the song, he basically talked about: Don’t be fooled by atheism. Don’t be fooled by communism. Don’t be fooled by evolution,” he said.
Shen Yun an ‘Energetic Performance’
Paul Schikal at the Wortham Center Brown Theater, Houston, March 27, 2022. Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times
Paul Schikal. a senior director in the accounting department in the oil industry had come to see Shen Yun with his wife. Mr. Schikal had learned something new about China.
“It’s interesting because I’ve never had a view of China that displayed any religiosity or idea of a higher power at all. And certainly, that’s not the way communist China is today. So [Shen Yun gives] a different insight into the Chinese culture,” he said.
“I’m really amazed at how good the dancers are. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like that. So, [I’m] very impressed with the use of the fans that the ladies had. And then the long water sleeves, that was just amazing to see,” Mr. Schikal said.
“So, it’s a very energetic performance. And I liked the way they blended the background screen where you see people kind of leap up the end of the stage and take off flying. That’s a very interesting effect. And very interesting to see all the different cultural aspects,” he said.
Mr. Schikal is referring to Shen Yun’s 3D technology which allows for seamless interaction between the actors on the stage and the digital projection. The audience often feels that they are part of the actual performance.
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