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JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Mr. Dennis Deverteuil had a personal response to Shen Yun when he and his wife Gertha Deverteuil saw the performance at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 29. “The closeness of this to me is that I was adopted by my uncle who was from China,” he said.
Smiling, he said he had come closer to his uncle’s Chinese heritage. “This to me is reminding me of the beauty of the love the man had for us, to adopt me when I was a little baby.”
Mr. Deverteuil said he was touched and pleased by the dance that describes contemporary Chinese history, An Unexpected Encounter. A father and daughter who are tourists in China are taking pictures in a park when they stumble on a side of China the tour guides don’t want them to see, according to the emcees.
He said he felt grateful that the artists shared their history and told him about some of the troubles they had gone through in China.
“To the artists, thank you for bringing me an experience I would not have had before,” Mr. Deverteuil said.
“It is a beautiful experience, something we have never ever seen before in our lives,” Mrs. Deverteuil said. “You don’t want to miss an experience like this.”
Speaking of the dance, Mr. Deverteuil said: “What brought my attention is the simplicity of the dance. It tells a story. It brings a purity to the dance.”
Chinese dance—known for its incredible flips and spins and its gentle elegance—is one of the most rigorous and expressive art forms in the world, according to the Shen Yun website.
“Another thing that struck me is the modesty,” Mrs. Deverteuil said. “We could use more of that.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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