Amherst Councilmember Finds Shen Yun Inspiring

Amherst town councilmember Barbara Nuchereno: “The good versus evil was interesting, and the parts of the culture that stress honour and perseverance, and those qualities that we all try to emulate and try to achieve in our own lives was in the show all around, and that was nice.”
Amherst Councilmember Finds Shen Yun Inspiring
Barbara Nuchereno and her daughter, Rachel, attend Shen Yun Performing Arts in Buffalo. Ms. Nuchereno said, "I was excited to be able to come this year." (Matthew Little/The Epoch Times)
Matthew Little
5/11/2012
Updated:
10/1/2015
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“Aside from the beautiful costumes, and the precise and artful dancing, and the beautiful singing, the incredible digital background was just amazing, and it was awe-inspiring.”

“But what I liked the most was also the thought-provoking serious side that reminds all of us that we live in this great country where we have freedom and not everybody does. And we can never forget that, and we can never forget to help people when we can,” she said.

Ms. Nuchereno said she appreciated the three dances that were set in modern China representing the current crackdown on the Falun Gong meditation practice. She said she appreciated the reminders about what it means to have freedom of belief, something that can easily be taken for granted.

“The reminder about freedom, and the lack of it really stayed with me,” she said.

Besides the visual beauty of what was presented on stage, Ms. Nuchereno said she was struck with the themes of the performance.

“The good versus evil was interesting, and the parts of the culture that stress honour and perseverance, and those qualities that we all try to emulate and try to achieve in our own lives was in the show all around, and that was nice,” she said.

“The meaning of all of it was inspiring so it brought together not just the culture but the values of the culture, the goodness, the evil, everything that it taught us about the culture and the history and the religion was just wonderful.”

She said she was intrigued by Shen Yun’s digital backdrops and how the scenes interacted with the dancers on the stage.

“They digitally had the people flying in and then coming out—that was really interesting. It also gave us a piece of China because it had the farmland, it had the mountains, it had the towns. So we were able to see some of the country through the background, which I thought was terrific.”

“The digital background was quite impressive,” she said.

Particularly notable for Ms. Nuchereno was Snowflakes Welcoming Spring, in which dancers take small quick steps while they spin and twirl sequined handkerchiefs as snowflakes gather for a final farewell.

“It was pretty,” said Ms. Nuchereno.

The Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra made an impression as well. After noting earlier the great acoustics in the Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Ms. Nuchereno shared her thoughts on the music performed that evening.

“They were top notch ... top notch,” she said.

Her teen daughter Rachel enjoyed the show as well.

“I thought it was amazing. It was really great. The dancing was awesome,” added Rachel Nuchereno.

Rachel said she was particularly taken with the dance Sleeves of Silk, in which classical Chinese dancers use “water sleeves” made of flowing lengths of silk. These trails of fabric linger in the air like a visual echo of each movement.

Ms. Nuchereno said Buffalo and its surrounding areas like Amherst were fortunate to have Shen Yun come and share the history and culture of traditional China.

“On behalf of the town of Amherst we appreciate the opportunity for Western New York to share in this experience,” she said.

“I would certainly hope it does come back every year.”

With reporting by NTD Television

Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world, with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture.

For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

 

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