NEW YORK—Donna McMaster had a fantastic time seeing the sold out performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch theater on Saturday, feeling a connection with a country she has received blessings from before.
“It was breathtaking,” Ms. McMaster, formerly the director of planning at Prada, overseeing the stores in the United States and Europe.
Now a stay-at-home mom, Ms. McMaster has adopted two children, a son and a daughter, from China. Her daughter received a special birthday gift for her fifth birthday—a ticket to see Shen Yun.
“She was sitting at the end of her seat,” said Ms. McMaster.
Shen Yun was “beautiful, absolutely stunning,” she added. “What a show.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun criss-crosses the globe with one mission—to revive the ancient Chinese culture.
“For 5,000 years divine culture flourished in the land of China,” states the company’s website. “Humanity’s treasure was nearly lost, but through breathtaking music and dance, Shen Yun is bringing back this glorious culture.”
Ms. McMaster felt fortunate to have seen Shen Yun.
“I wish everyone was as blessed as I was to see it,” she said. “It really captured the true feeling you get looking at the Chinese culture.”
The company cannot currently perform in China, “which is so upsetting,” said Ms. McMaster, because the ruling communist regime, according to the Shen Yun Performing Arts website, “sees traditional Chinese culture, which stems from the Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian faiths, as its greatest rival.”
“We’re so blessed to be able to see it, and I will offer up all of my prayers that they'll be able to see this in China,” she added.
The performers are “so beautiful inside and out,” she said.
When her son turns four—he is two right now—Ms. McMaster will bring her son, and the family will see Shen Yun every year, she said.
Meanwhile, her daughter was already inspired by Shen Yun to dance with a friend while Ms. McMaster was being interviewed.
Reporting by NTD Television and Zachary Stieber
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Shen Yun Performing Arts is performing at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center through April 28.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
