KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—Sherry Ludlington, who owns a computer company with her husband, hails from a family of artists. Her aunt was an opera singer and her mother was a pianist. Mrs. Ludlington attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Tennessee Theater on Feb. 13 and loved it. She said that the entire performance was wonderful.
She felt Shen Yun was universal. She also felt it was a wake up call.
The dance An Unexpected Encounter made a powerful impression on her.
Mrs. Ludlington said that Americans are not aware of modern day China and how hard it is.
“We have no concept,” she said. An Unexpected Encounter describes an oppressive situation in modern China. Mrs. Ludlington said the entire performance is beautiful, and she did not want to downplay the beauty, but the contemporary history and the educational side of the performance is important.
“First of all, I encourage people to see the program,” she said.
Chinese people and American people have the same hopes and values, essentially, in her opinion. “I would like to tell them that we are all the same, we are the same. I don’t care where you live; we all want the same things, things for our family and children. So just make people aware. My message to my family and friends would be, you really need to be more aware of what’s really happening.”
Mrs. Ludlington said it showed her how traditional Chinese culture influenced American culture. Reflecting on ballets she saw growing up in America, she thought the large-scale narrative dances might have originated in the East.
Due to over 60 years of communist rule in China, the ancient Chinese culture was nearly destroyed, most notably during the Cultural Revolution.
In 2006, Shen Yun was established by a group of classical Chinese artists with the desire to revive the almost lost ancient Chinese culture.
“Completely independent of the Chinese regime, we enjoy the artistic freedom of New York to bring these ancient legends and virtues back to life,” according to Shen Yun’s website.
Thinking of her children, Mrs. Ludlington thinks sometimes her teenagers express themselves too much, and while she has tried to suppress that, she said that the American government should not and could not.
“So that makes me feel sorry for the culture,” in modern day China, she said.
She was struck by the last dance Divine Mercy, when calamity strikes but steadfast faith brings celestial aid, according to the program book.
“They went through all the hardship. At the end of the wait it’s the light at the end of the tunnel. I think it is coming, I kind of imagine,” she said.
“We all have something to hope for,” she said.
Reporting by NTD Television and Kelly Ni.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun will give four shows in Nashville from Feb. 15-17. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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