ATLANTA—“This is just wonderful,” said Ms. Aida Flamm. As wind blew and rain fell heavily, she and her husband, Mr. Allan Flamm saw Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at Atlanta’s Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
The audience showed their appreciation throughout Wednesday evening’s show with whistles, laughter, loud applause and a standing ovation at the end.
Co-owner of Aida & Co, which develops exclusive product lines for five star hotels, Ms. Flamm was highly impressed by the artistry of the performances and said, “The costumes are magnificent. The colors are beautiful!”
One of the features that strike audiences most are Shen Yun’s animated backdrops that set the stage amid deep forests or Mongolian prairies. Ms. Flamm admired them and said, “I think it’s brilliant the way the people fly into the stage. It’s very high-tech, very well done.”
Having spent many years in China the couple said they appreciated seeing classical Chinese culture presented through Shen Yun’s performances. “We love the old stories. We love Chinese culture. We think it’s wonderful!” The company is based in New York and has not yet performed in mainland China. The artists intend to revive authentic Chinese culture, which has been damaged and suppressed by the communist regime.
Mr. Flamm said watching the performances expanded his knowledge of China, “What Americans don’t realize is that we tend to classify all Chinese as Chinese. There are so many different cultures in China.”
He added, “I’m testing my Chinese language skills, trying to listen to the lady who is doing the announcing. ... Mr. Flamm said in Chinese, ‘I understand just a bit.’]”
Ms. Flamm said she was touched by the performance based on a true story that took place in China, of a young teacher who was killed for her spiritual belief, Our Story.
Mr. Flamm commented on the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, “The powers that be don’t believe in any religion.”
In conclusion Mrs. Flamm said, “We love the costumes, we love the music. It’s really very special.”
Allan and Aida Flamm were co-owners of Flambro Imports which designed & sourced multiple ranges of accent furniture & decorative accessories for several major retail chains. The couple started Aida & Co. in 2007, developing exclusive product lines for Five Star Hotels in Beverly Hills, Vail, Las Vegas and Cancun, Mexico.
Ms. Flamm has served on the Boards of The Latin American Association, The Atlanta College of Art, The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Atlanta Women’s Foundation , The Georgia Women’s Forum, Aid Atlanta & International Board for The School of Human Sciences, Auburn University. In 1995, Aida co-chaired the annual gala for the International Women’s Forum that was held in Atlanta hosting over 1000 CEOs, elected officials, and other well-known and respected women from around the world.
Reporting by Mimi Li, NTD Television and Jeanmarie Lunsford.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Atlanta will have one more show on March 10. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org .
