ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Lance Ponton said he was inspired by his first Shen Yun performance and would see it again. It was a full house April 26 for the first of four performances at the Mahaffey Theater.
Mr. Ponton, a real estate developer in Tampa, Fla., said: “I’ve been reading about this show for some months. And I love the Chinese culture, so I decided I should see it.”
“I’m very impressed with it—the movement, the flow, the energy from the people. And the story, it’s very unique.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts features classical Chinese dance and mini-drama pieces based on the stories and legends from China’s 5,000-year-old culture.
“In less than ten minutes each, Shen Yun dances recount ancient myths, bygone heroes, or celestial paradises,” the company’s website states. “Whether set in the past or in contemporary China, every dance embodies traditional Chinese values.”
Mr. Ponton was especially impressed by the spirituality of the performance. “I think it’s wonderful—the energy they give out. It’s free-flowing, unobstructed by gravity. It’s so beautiful. It’s so natural—purified energy,” he said.
Traditional Values
“I think those traditional values should be portrayed everywhere, but they’re not, as we know. And I love it. It’s nice to see something that’s beautiful and something of meaning that everybody should enjoy.
“The things you read and things you see every day are not like this. We need more of these kinds of things to inspire people to be more caring about one another,” he said.
Mr. Ponton was accompanied by a friend who is on the board of a college in Beijing. “He’s on the board of many companies. And he’s very impressed with this show. I said, ‘Do you see anything like this in China?’ And he said no.”
The Chinese Communist Party has a history of suppressing the traditional culture through campaigns like the Cultural Revolution. Forcing its communist ideology on society, the Party has destroyed not only cultural sites, treasures, and temples but also the Chinese people’s belief in the divine, the website explains.
Mr. Ponton said he was touched by the performance. “I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s very, very beautiful,” he said. “I would see this again.”
Reporting by Elaine Zhang and Louise Rothman
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. 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.
