PORTLAND, Ore—Widely known as a “City of roses and rivers”, Portland is one of the country’s largest European-style cities.

Built in 1917, The Portland Center for the Performing Arts, also called the Keller Auditorium,is considered one of the top 10 performing arts centers in the nation that hosts over 900 performances every year.

For three days and four performances at the Keller Auditorium, internationally renowned New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts returns to Portland. The opening performance will be on Friday evening, March 27, followed by two performances on Saturday afternoon and evening, March 28; and a matinee on Sunday, March 29.

Shen Yun was established in New York in 2006 by a group of leading classical Chinese artists with a wish “to revive the true, divinely inspired culture of China and share it with the world,” according to the company website.

After decades of communist rule, this traditional culture, its values, and its profound spiritual beliefs were almost lost.

But through the universal language of performing arts, Shen Yun has brought back the best of these traditions, with the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique live orchestra with Eastern and Western instruments, interactive backdrops, colorful costumes, and inspiring musical soloists.

Oregon officials have issued greeting letters, or statements praising Shen Yun for the company’s revival of Chinese civilization.

State Senator Jackie Winters wrote, “I wish to welcome you to the State of Oregon and to extend my sincere greetings to your company as you bring your remarkable display of artistic talents to the Keller Auditorium in Portland.”

State Senator Elizabeth Steiner Hayward MD sent a warm welcome letter to Shen Yun Performing Arts. She wrote that, “this stellar event will help to foster educational awareness and international cooperation on those common issues facing our planet, and I am delighted that Oregonians will have the opportunity to experience classical Chinese culture through the art of dance and music.”

State Representative Cliff Bentz, Sharon Konopa, Mayor of Albany,  Charlie Hales, Mayor of Portland, and Denny Doyle, Mayor of Beaverton also extended their greetings to Shen Yun.

“We are thrilled to have Shen Yun in Portland,” wrote Denny Doyle. “The event is a window into China’s rich cultural history displayed through dynamic artistry … amazing dance, stunning costumes, animated backdrops and expressive music.”

He called Shen Yun a “must-see performance that will be enjoyed by all generations.”

And this is exactly how many Portlanders, who watched this performance before, felt about it.

“It was heavenly. It really was … absolute grace,” Lilita Sale, an artist and sculptor said emotionally, “and it deserves every seat to be filled. I think that every single person in the world should see this.”

Ms. Sale said that today, in our culture and the world, there is so much violence and so much ugliness. “I want to thank [Shen Yun] for bringing beauty. If I talk any longer, I’m going to cry because it touches the heart. It really does, it opens the heart.”

Ms. Sale’s emotional response was echoed by another Portlander, Julia Stone, a retired Probation, Parole, Substance Abuse, and Justice Services Officer: “If everyone in the world could see this performance, there wouldn’t be any war. I wept half way through it.

“I don’t want to leave this building, because I am afraid the feeling will stay here. But no, I‘ll carry it with me; I’ll carry it with me always. It’s in my soul, in my spirit, which I believe we all have.”

Ms. Stone understood that “the universal message of this whole performance is love, just love, it’s that simple. It truly is. So if each one of us starts in ourselves, we can spread it around everywhere,” she said.

Shen Yun will perform in Portland, OR March 27-29, and in Eugene OR, March 31.

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006