NORTHAMPTON, UK—Tim Roberts-Holmes didn’t quite know what to expect when he bought tickets to
Shen Yun Performing Arts as a surprise for his wife, Jane, and was blown away by the brilliantly
colored world the performing arts group had brought to life.
“That was unbelievable, and just terribly graceful,” said Mr. Roberts-Holmes, a consultant in the IT field, after seeing Shen Yun at the Royal & Derngate on Feb. 17. “Absolutely fascinating, and really enjoyed it. We'll certainly be back.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through
music and
dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.
Mr. Roberts-Holmes was stunned to learn that although Shen Yun presents traditional Chinese culture, it cannot perform in China. The communist regime has banned
Shen Yun from doing so, as the regime has sought to destroy traditional culture through violent means like the Cultural Revolution during its 75-year rule.
He expressed support for the artists’
mission.
“It’s terribly important,” he said. “Doesn’t matter which country it is or what particular culture is, but you know culture is part of what we are today. And we should never ignore it. We should learn from it and embrace it.”
“They should be really proud of themselves,” Mr. Roberts-Holmes said of the artists. “To think this is
touring the world permanently, taking that, what I guess is a repressed culture to the world.”
Also blown away by Shen Yun was Mark Thurland who said he felt “entranced” and “transfixed” by the beauty and depth of the performance.
“Absolutely wonderful, very spiritual, finding it very
spiritual. And it’s just beautifully done,“ said Mr. Thurland, who works in sales. ”The
singing was wonderful. Everything about the performance, the lighting, everything, the colors, spectacular. I think it’s absolutely wonderful to me.”
“I’m in a trance watching it,” he added. “It’s so something that I’ve not seen before, and it’s just very vivid, brilliant ... it’s just another world.”
Mr. Thurland said he usually has a lot on his mind but was completely refreshed sitting in the audience of Shen Yun.
“[It] opens up a lot of my mind because if you’re feeling a bit down, or you’re feeling like this, you listen to this and you view it takes you away, and you’re almost transfixed, and it’s just relaxing and comforting,” he said. “And I’m loving it. I’m absolutely loving it.”
Reporting by NTD, Mary Man, and Catherine Yang.
