TAOYUAN, Taiwan— Marveling at Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s first performance in Taoyuan on April 6, 2012, lawyer Li Quanchen expressed what really touched his heart, saying, “I heard of Falun Gong quite often, but it is the first time for me to know the relationship between Falun Dafa and the Shen Yun Performing Arts today. ... To me, this is something really amazing.”
New York-based Shen Yun brings to life 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through classical Chinese dance and music in an exhilarating show people often describe as unforgettable, capturing the spirit of a culture almost destroyed by communism. The performance moves quickly through regions, dynasties, and legends. Ethnic and folk dances fill the stage with color and energy. Tremendous athleticism, thunderous battle drums, and masterful vocalists are all harmonized with animated backdrops that transport the audience to another world.
At the Taoyuan Country Performing Arts Center, Mr. Quanchen witnessed Shen Yun reviving the essence of the authentic Chinese culture and its spiritual values, such as righteousness, compassion, justice and kindness. “I didn’t major in dancing, so I am, in fact, a layman in the field of traditional dance,” he said. “But from the visual effect angle, I can feel that it (Shen Yun) is exceptionally good.”
Once serving as a prosecutor at the Yunlin and Hsinchu District Prosecutor Offices, Li Quanchen said this is the very first time for him to see the artistic performance, and it expanded his horizons. “I think (Shen Yun’s) artistic achievement is really remarkable and impressive,” he said.
According to Shen Yun’s website, Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) is an advanced self-cultivation practice guided by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. “It has helped over a hundred million Chinese people understand and return to the essence of traditional Chinese culture—Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist schools of thought,” states the website, yet since 1999 the communist regime in China has attempted to eradicate the practice.
Falun Gong practitioners who have held firm to their beliefs and exposed this brutal persecution, with “their spirit of compassion and tolerance, manifest the very essence of China’s 5,000-year-old divine culture,” explains the company’s website. “In Shen Yun performances, themes like spiritual devotion, the benevolence of gods, good and evil retribution, and the search for the meaning of life have appeared in Falun Gong-related dance stories and lyrics. These programs touch the heart and enlighten the mind.”
Li Quanchen was deeply touched by the performance and the dances depicting the situation in modern China. “I believe Falun Dafa has been deeply rooted in various places all over the world,” he said. “After seeing today’s artistic performance, I also believe that (Shen Yun) has had a very solid artistic foundation.”
Reporting by Yue Yun & Billy Shyu.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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