MESA, Ariz.—Many first-time audience members know they’re in for amazing music and dance when seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts, and to their surprise and delight discover that the production utilizes technology they’ve never seen before to transport the audiences from ancient kingdoms to heavenly realms.
That was the case for business owners Ray and Serena Fowler, who saw Shen Yun at the Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center on Feb. 11.
As the curtain opened and brilliant colors flooded the stage, Mr. Fowler turned to his wife and asked, in awe, “What is that?”
“I think it’s heaven,” Mrs. Fowler whispered back to him. “It’s heaven, yes.”
“That is unbelievable,” Mrs. Fowler said.
“It is remarkable, it’s awesome. The dancing, the choreography, I mean it’s amazing,” Mr. Fowler said.
The references to heaven and divinity left an impression on Mr. Fowler, who said he hadn’t known this was such an integral part of Chinese culture.
“That’s interesting to see so many similarities between [our] cultures,” Mr. Fowler said. “I’ve learned a lot so far.”
“When they first brought that up, it struck me because I’m religious,” he said. “It was touching, and interesting for me to see.”
“It’s a small world,” she said. “We’re a lot more alike than we know.”
She said the performance conveyed a message of “love, kindness” and following God.
“We are all God’s children, from the same [place],” Mr. Fowler added.
“It’s beautiful,” Mrs. Fowler said. “I love knowing about other people’s ideas and thoughts ... and it’s kind of similar to ours and beautiful, very beautiful.”
