SACRAMENTO, Calif.—After the Great Cultural Revolution, many young Chinese had little knowledge of what true China was like. Brent Gong and Nara Lau came to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center for a taste of what China was like before communism.
“I don’t really go to very many theatrical productions. It was a little different than going to a movie,” Mr. Gong said, noting that movies are edited while Shen Yun was a live production.
Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most expressive dance systems in the world.Shen Yun’s performance consists of multiple pieces of classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and Chinese dance stories. Many of these dance stories portray the divinity who gives aid to those with pure hearts.
Ms. Lau said that those scenes struck her “Because we had the divinities coming down. That is what I believe. I think that’s a beautiful representation of that.”
Shen Yun’s artists are a representation of what they portray. Not only are they disciplined enough to become masters of their art, they are also very focused on their mission.
“I think [Shen Yun] is a great product of discipline and meditation and focus. I think that’s missing in today’s society, and they need that discipline and structure,” Ms. Lau said.“I believe it is evil when you hurt someone or cause harm or you deprive them of freedom,” Ms. Lau said.
Reporting by Lily Yu and Maria Han.The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
