Audience on Sunday Aug. 2 at the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)
“I loved it, I had no idea what to expect,” she said. “I really feel like I just received a big, big blessing from coming—I really do, this is very, very good.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts aims to revive ancient Chinese culture through Chinese classical dance, legendary tales, and music. Three performance groups travel the globe year-round and perform to hundreds of thousands of audience members each season.
“I think that other Americans, whether they are Chinese, Spanish, or no matter where they are from, I think they need to embrace other cultures and find out what the true meaning of what’s behind it is. And I think this represents that—it talks about the different dynasties, and how powerful they were and how spiritual as well. And I am grateful for the lady that brought me to it today, she was just so insistent, and I am so happy she was.”
Ms. Williams is sponsoring a bus trip to see Shen Yun in Washington, D.C. at the end of the month. “I wish I could just fill a lot of buses up,” she said. As a nurse in a retirement home, she hopes her clients will take the opportunity to travel with her.
“I am taking anyone who will go,” she said. “I just wish more people knew about this.”
Ms. Williams sings in a church choir, helping her appreciate the world-class music she was privy too with the orchestra, the solo musicians, and the solo vocalists.
“The ending, the singers, made me want to cry, they were very good,” she said. “And the words they were singing about ... were so encouraging.”
“I appreciate the music, the instruments, the instrumental portion, it was fantastic, I was awed.
“I think it shows, from what they were talking about, the culture, that we need to understand more about the Chinese culture, and I think that I have a greater appreciation for the culture itself. I really do, it’s just fantastic.”
Ms. Williams didn't know about traditional Chinese culture before seeing Shen Yun.
“But what it showed me is that, I think in America, we have a misconception of what others’ cultures are—because we only see small portions—but it actually makes me want to ... see more of what the culture is really about and be more diverse. And I like that, I really love that.”
“I want to fill the bus [to D.C.],” she said. “I want to take 47 people to the show and I wish there was another way to let others know that I am leaving from Queens, New York, so they can get on the bus if they want to go. If you want to go see the show on August 29, call me.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts will be performing two shows in Birmingham, Ala., on Aug. 21 and 22, at the Concert Hall, Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Then a five-run show will be held at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center Opera House from August 26 to 30.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
