BURLINGTON, Vt.—Sharon Buck, a manager for a department in the New York state government, was delighted by
Shen Yun Performing Arts at Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Vermont on May 21.
“It’s dramatic, funny, and romantic—it’s all of the things that you want to see,” she said.
“The choreography is on point, the costumes are stunning, and the music really works to help you get into the mood of the piece that they’re presenting.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese
dance company. Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
According to the company’s website, this year’s
performance demonstrates “China before communism.”
Ms. Buck and her mother traveled from Syracuse, New York, to Burlington, Vermont, just to see Shen Yun.
“My mom called and said that she had read about the show in her local newspaper, and we booked tickets for the first closest show that we could find,” she said.
“It’s worth every moment of time and anything that you need to do to get to the
show, because it’s stunning,” she added.
In addition to myths and legends, Shen Yun also presents a mini-drama depicting the persecution of Falun Dafa, also called
Falun Gong—a spiritual discipline that promotes the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, for which its adherents have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since 1999.
Ms. Buck commented that Shen Yun’s use of
storytelling through music and dance was a great way to reach audience members’ hearts and illustrate the persecutions of faith taking place in China.
“It’s an incredible way to do it through this art form. Because you’re really drawing people in, you’re entertaining them, you’re creating a positive association with the story. And I think it’s a great way to spread their mission and their message,” she said.
“The fact that I’m able to see the story unfold in a sequence, I think, helps me to really understand what the message is … through song and dance. and shows they want to bring attention to the fact that this persecution still exists.”
“It makes me feel hopeful, it makes me feel happy, and it makes me feel like I’ve learned something, which is the most important part of art,” she added.
Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.
