BOSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts final performance at the Boston Opera House on Sunday afternoon filled audience members hearts with joy, love, beauty, and magic.
“I feel like I love the singers, oh my god, god bless everybody, it’s so beautiful,” said Steve Reddy who attended the 2:00 p.m. show with his wife and sister-in-law.
To Mr. Reddy, who seemed to be at a loss for words, the show was so beautiful that it was “like magic,” he said.
He had seen many advertisements about the show at different times and he always wanted to see it, so this was his first time. Mr. Reddy was glad he finally came.
“When you sing these beautiful songs, and you see these people dancing, it looks like angels,” he said. Mr. Reddy plans to go see Shen Yun again next year. “I thought it was wonderful,” he said.
The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts dance company travels the world touching audiences hearts with it’s classical Chinese dance performances, which include bel canto vocalists, a symphony orchestra that combines Eastern and Western instruments, and a digital backdrop that makes each mini-drama piece come more to life.
The pieces are based on legends from China’s 5,000-year traditional culture, which is divinely inspired and relies upon moral principles such as compassion, tolerance, and respect for the divine.
Audience member Sarah Patenaude, a college student studying psychology and Asian language was equally moved by the performance. “I started crying,” she said.
“It was just such an awesome experience and it was really moving,” she added.
Ms. Patenaude was particularly moved by a piece depicting a husband and wife fighting for their beliefs despite being interfered with by communist authorities.
“They were still just so faithful to each other and their beliefs. It was just so touching,” she said.
The actors in that mini-drama were practicing an ancient cultivation practice called Falun Gong, which has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since 1999. Ironically, the practice reveres Buddhist and Taoist principles just like traditional Chinese culture, which the Party has almost destroyed.
“It was so sad, but so beautiful the way they pulled through,” Ms. Patenaude said.
She understood the message to be that “they seem to be fighting and the good side is always pulling through and coming out of that bad negativity.”
Overall, Ms. Patenaude thinks everyone should go see Shen Yun.
“I'd say it was just breathtaking,” she said.
Reporting by Hua Chang, Sophia Zheng, and Arleen Richards
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.
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.
