PORTLAND, Maine—It is seldom that an audience member sends an e-mail to the organizers of a show expressing how fortunate he is to see the performance and how much he appreciates it.
Mr. Wilcox, an editor and publisher of a Maine newspaper, was one such exception. He was in the audience at the Shen Yun Performing Arts show at Portland's Merrill Auditorium to experience true traditional Chinese culture. He wrote that he is looking forward to seeing next year's show.
The Shen Yun Performing Arts show exhibits cultural tales past and present, spanning 5,000 years of Chinese history, through dance, song, and music.
"Good afternoon. ... It is not too often that a night can bring so much entertainment. We certainly were not expecting the sincere pleasure that we felt while seated from the first moments of the show. The story was easy to follow, the music was outstanding, and the performers were perfect. The choreographed dance routines were among the finest I've ever witnessed and the colors blended in perfectly. As we left the theater we were all commenting that we would definitely be there again next year.
Thank you for a most enjoyable evening."
'Oh, it's fabulous'
"Oh, it's fabulous, it's ... beautiful costumes, just incredibly gorgeous. The choreography and the dancing are amazing. The performance has been very pleasing so far and very enjoyable and educational," Mr. Pinkelman shared during the intermission of the Sunday show.
Having been handed the exceptionally beautiful and colorful flyer about the Shen Yun performance, he just could not resist buying tickets.
"We were at a ... concert in Freeport and people were passing out flyers, about 2 months ago, so I'm glad we heard about it back then and were able to get online and buy tickets," he said.
Mr. Pinkelman was especially pleased when he realized that he had garnered a couple of the best seats at the Merrill Auditorium.
"I didn't realize how close we were. I thought I would be in the fifth row. After I bought them [the tickets] they told me that I would be in the first row.[The orchestra pit needed the first 4 rows.] Really impressed and pleasantly surprised."
'Gee that looks interesting. We should go see it'
"So far it has been fascinating. Really interesting to see the different dances reflecting different parts of the country," Mr. Bailey said, reflecting on the diversity of the show.
The dance Drummers of the Tang Court, loved by so many in the audience, was a scene the Bailey's wouldn't have wanted to miss. "I like the drums," Ms. Bailey said, trying to express her feelings about the show and was still so much immersed in it that she just said a few words.
"Yes that was fascinating. It's all been very good," her husband joined in.
He continued, looking for a way to describe the powerful dance performance, "We are looking forward to the second half."
Just like many at the show, this couple was glad that they bought the tickets after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper.
"We saw the ad in the newspaper and said 'gee that looks really interesting. We should go see it,' Mr. Bailey said.
Shen Yun will be traveling to Canada to perform in Toronto Oct. 9–11.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
