Evangeline Zhu was at Lincoln Center in New York, hours away from stepping on stage, when she got the news: The show would not go on. In the 14 years that Shen Yun Performing Arts had been performing, seldom had there been a canceled show—though the Chinese Communist Party has certainly tried to have Shen Yun canceled. Zhu thought it was a joke; it turned out to be anything but. A pandemic was sweeping across the world, shuttering gathering places and venues for art and entertainment.
It was a year and a half before Zhu could come face-to-face with the audience once more. In September, she took to the stage in Stamford, Connecticut, with a heart of gratitude.
