PHOENIX—Shen Yun Performing Arts opened at Arizona State University Gammage Theater on Friday March 27. ASU is among the largest university-based presenters of performing arts in the world. Its mission is “to connect communities through artistic excellence and educational outreach.”
A former ballet dancer repeated that she loved Shen Yun. Theresa did not give her last name. She was a ballet dancer for several years and now does financial counseling. She was enchanted with the Shen Yun performance. “It’s fabulous. I love it. I love it. I love it. Just the scenery, the costumes, the spacing is impeccable, the choreography is great. It’s a great show.
“I think they are more graceful. It’s a lot more culture, a lot more down to earth, a lot more vibrant.”
The Western-trained dancer felt the show is accessible to anyone, not just to a person who knew classical Chinese dance traditions. She said it was “Graceful, strong, vibrant, but at the same time very conservative—just welcoming to all. I like that a lot.”
Theresa spoke gravely about the dance Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution. In it, a family suffers a grievous loss when the father, a Falun Dafa practitioner, is attacked by communist party members. Ultimately, good triumphs. “The persecution in China is unfortunate, but I think it was just great for them to bring it out there and make it known. So just for us to see it was informative. I think that they should continue to do that.”
With a melodious laugh, she begged the reporter to tell the performers, “I just want you to come back, come back, please come back.”
This was the first of three shows in Phoenix. Honolulu, Hawaii will have a performance on Tuesday, March 31. Three companies are touring the world.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
