CLEVELAND—"I really enjoyed the performance,” said Barbara Cunningham who brought her granddaughter and her mother to the Shen Yun Performing Arts at Cleveland’s State Theatre. “It was absolutely beautiful.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revitalize traditional Chinese culture through the performing arts—a culture that was all but lost due to Chinese communist rule. Being a New-York based performing arts company, Shen Yun has the freedom to now present this culture to the world.
“It’s very inspiring, very uplifting, and my heart was inspired with what a lot of Chinese people have gone through and how they are trying to reach out,” said Ms. Cunningham, an interior designer for Ethan Allen.
Shen Yun takes the audience through 5,000 years of culture from ancient times to present, beloved myths, legends and history. It does so with short story-based dance dramas and opera-style soloist performances.
“It all is very interesting, just to take a trip back in time—and to see the grace and beauty, the strength and dignity that the Chinese people have, and their perseverance.”
Ms. Cunningham expressed what Shen Yun might have to offer today’s world: “The beauty of the classical dance and music is very refined, and that it’s more well received now than ever. And, I also think that people will look differently at, really the plight of the things that we really don’t know that are happening in China for people of faith.”
She had some background for understanding the repression in China. “I could hear some of the message that was being told today. I have also heard of other people of faith in China that have struggled with, just persecution, and not been able to express themselves.”
Shen Yun “has enhanced my understanding of that. It is something that we don’t think about every day because we live here,” she said.
Ms. Cunningham said, “I loved the fan-dance with the lotus flowers … I loved the beauty of it. Then, also the mother and the daughter’s scene is very touching.”
She is referring to the dance, The Steadfast Lotus depicting a family torn apart from the decade long persecution in China of people of faith.
“You know, there is a hope, but yet in the struggle there is some deep sadness and things to overcome,” she said.
Reporting by Stacey Tang and Cat Rooney
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.
