LOS ANGELES—“I’m just really moved, I’m touched, and I am just thrilled to experience this,” said pianist and piano teacher Susan High after attending Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on March 22. “I’m totally impressed,” she said.
Ms. High has been a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California for 23 years and is a piano instructor at the Long Beach School of Music. She came to see Shen Yun with her mother, who had been wanting to see the program for some time.
Completely independent of the Chinese regime, Shen Yun Performing Arts strives to resurrect the essence of China’s divinely inspired culture through breathtaking music and dance and share it with the world, according to the non-profit organization’s website.
It has only been eight short years since Shen Yun’s inception in New York in 2006, and the non-profit organization has four different companies touring the world, performing in some 20 countries and over 100 cities.
As a musician, Ms. High said she was thrilled that the performance included a full orchestral accompaniment, since many dance companies use pre-recorded music. She thought the combination of Eastern and Western instruments worked well together, and she gave the artists high praise.
“They’re wonderful musicians, and the music is wonderful. … It’s beautifully orchestrated and performed, and I applaud that too. Bravo!”
Ms. High was very impressed with the soprano vocalist who performed near the beginning of the program, saying she had an amazing and powerful voice. She also commented on the skills of the dancers.
“You could see that all the dancers have worked so hard and yet they’re expressive,” she said. “It’s not just a physical exercise. It’s very lyrical, very expressive.”
Shen Yun’s website states, “China’s deep cultural traditions are contained in classical Chinese dance, allowing its movements to be richly expressive, such that the personalities and feelings of characters can be portrayed with unparalleled clarity.”
Ms. High said the performance exceeded her expectations and was a very rich experience.
“It goes beyond what the expectation is. I thought I was going to see beautiful dance and I would love it. It’s deeper than what I thought it would be,” she said. “It transcends spirituality, religion. There’s something that connects all of us together, and this is a platform that allows that kind of connection. … I think it speaks to anybody.”
Ms. High said it was wonderful that Shen Yun brings together high quality music and dance technique, beautiful artistry, and profound spiritual values, together with what she called “a bold humanitarian message,” and she hoped Shen Yun would continue to travel all throughout the world.
“This is my very first time, and I’m going to tell everybody to come and see this. I was just talking to my mother about, ‘Oh next time we’ll have to bring my sister and brother and my nieces and nephews.’”
Ms. High applauded all artists, behind-the-scenes workers, and supporters of Shen Yun.
“Sometimes people think the arts are something that is extra, and that’s why they’re cutting the budgets for the arts. People don’t come to this and think, ‘Oh it’s too expensive.’ No, it’s not. It’s very important. It’s what fires what’s inside of us,” she said.
“I want to thank all the performers, the musicians, and the dancers. All the people backstage. … Everybody who is involved in this project, I applaud you.”
With reporting by Jennifer Zeng 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.
