MADISON, Wisc.—It's terrific," said Williams Hobbins about Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company. He attended the May 7 evening performance at Overture Hall with family and a friend.
"It's the best show there is. That any country with a group of people would come and profess their faith in such a direct way is beautiful," he said.
"I was impressed with the fact that you are expressing that there is a deep spiritual faith in the Chinese [culture].
Shen Yun's mission is to revitalize 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture through the universal language of dance and music.
"China was once known as Shen Zhou: The Divine Land. This profound name describes a land where deities and mortals coexisted, and a belief that the divine transmitted a rich culture to the people of the earth," states the Shen Yun website.
Unfortunately, these traditions are not welcomed by the communist party, thus the performance cannot be seen in China.
"It's a very, very spiritual show. It's based upon, as [it is said] in the [program] book, divine blessing, just like in the opening. It's very beautiful. I wouldn't miss this."
Mr. Hobbins roots go deep in Madison history as his ancestors came from England during the Civil War. His enjoyment of Shen Yun Performing Arts runs as deep as his family roots in Madison. He has seen Shen Yun twice in Madison.
"I would come again tomorrow. I'll be here next year hopefully when [it] comes," said Mr. Hobbins, who is a surgeon, cancer specialist, and owner of Christian Medical Center.
"I taught in Korea for 16 years, once a week in the oriental clinic there." He also is familiar with another ancient Chinese tradition, Chinese medicine.
"The heart of Shen Yun is classical Chinese dance. Classical Chinese dance has its own training in basic skills, physical expression, and postures, leaps, flips, spins and other difficult tumbling techniques, forming an extensive and independent dance system," states the Shen Yun website.
Mr. Hobbins was impressed with the precision of the dancers. He mentioned "the tremendous practice as there is not anybody as uniform in their dancing and staying together."
Mr. Hobbins would describe Shen Yun to others as "It's a spiritual uplift."
Reporting by William Huang and Cat Rooney
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.
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.
