SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Award Winning Reporter Says Shen Yun ‘Awesome’

Mar 28, 2014
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Award Winning Reporter Says Shen Yun ‘Awesome’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Shen Yun Performing Arts opened on March 26 at Popejoy Hall, bringing the wonders of 5,000 years of Chinese culture to the stage.

In attendance was Kathy Helms, an award-winning investigative reporter for the Gallup Independent. Ms. Helms and the Independent cover topics related to the local Navajo and Hopi tribes such as environment, corruption, and energy. Ms. Helms herself is of Cherokee and German descent.

“This is awesome,” she said of Shen Yun. “It’s wonderful.”

Shen Yun was established in New York in 2006 by a group of artists dedicated to reviving the true, divinely-inspired culture of China through the world’s finest classical Chinese dance, according to the non-profit organization’s website.

A Shen Yun performance is accompanied by an orchestra with both Eastern and Western instruments and includes folk dances, musical soloists, elegant costumes, and a colorful, interactive digital backdrop that complements the dances, says the website.

Shen Yun also includes two dance pieces that portray the current persecution of the spiritual group Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, in China. Falun Dafa is a mind and body improvement practice that combines ancient Chinese teachings with meditation exercises.

Kathy Helms had been aware of human rights violations in areas of China, but was interested to learn more about the impact of the oppressive communist regime on the Chinese people.

“The fact that the story gets out, that’s good,” she said. “It needs to get out and educate people.”

Reporting by Flora Qu and Sarah Le

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

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