The Phoenix Orpheum theater in Phoenix, Arizona, Oct. 27, 2021. Lin Nanyu/The Epoch Times
PHOENIX, Ariz.—Audience members often feel more energized leaving a performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts than coming in. Caroline Wagner is a sound healer and a yoga instructor. She found that Shen Yun was an experience beyond her regular senses.
It's incredible because they are in that state of consciousness and it comes through! To someone who's sensitive, I can feel that.
— Caroline Wagner
“I’m very sensitive to energy. It’s incredible because they are in that state of consciousness and it comes through! To someone who’s sensitive, I can feel that. It uplifts our consciousness,” Wagner said.
“You don’t even have to watch it, you can feel it. But watching it is so beautiful.”
Being a yoga instructor, Wagner was also familiar with the ancient practice of Falun Gong. The performance uses dance and music to vividly depict the followers of this practice in China and the persecution that they are experiencing.
“The most important thing is they’re exposing what’s going on [and] they’re sharing [the] ancient art of the Falun Gong,“ Wagner said. ”And that’s so needed in the world, the thing we need more than anything, is to wake up spiritually.”
New York-based Shen Yun often portrays stories of cultivation on stage, and meditation is an integral part of that process.
“It’s not just sitting down and meditating but it’s the lifestyle,” Wagner said. “That’s also what we need here in America. We need to meditate, go within, but then bring that peace up to the world.”
She could also understand the damage that the Chinese Communist Party had done in China when it tried to destroy China’s culture and traditions.
“If you want to destroy a culture, take away their history,” she said.
David Sambuceti, a project developer at CVS Health, and Caroline Wagner at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Phoenix Orpheum, on Oct. 27, 2021. Sally Sun/The Epoch Times
In attendance with Wagner, this evening was David Sambuceti, a senior project developer.
Knowing that Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the 5,000 years of China’s culture and tradition, Sambuceti added, “I applaud them for their artistry and all the work that must go into being able to do what they do so well. I can’t imagine how many hours a day for years and years and years they put into it.”
“They must be making great sacrifice because I’m sure most of them, if not all performers [are] from China and they can’t go home,” he added.
“They can’t practice their art at home, and I empathize with the sacrifice [they’re] making to be able to perform and convey their message.”
Reporting by Sally Sun and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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