TOLEDO, Ohio—Attending Shen Yun Performing Arts Saturday evening was a special surprise anniversary gift for Mr. Lamar Fredrick. “It is SO wonderful! It’s absolutely wonderful!” exclaimed the Chairman of the Monroe County Commissioners in the state of Michigan.
The couple traveled from Michigan to take in Saturday evening’s performance at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo. “My wife brought me here—for our anniversary. And it is wonderful! It’s absolutely wonderful! All of the dancing, all of the props, all of the music, it is wonderful. I am so glad we are here! As you say, hen hao (very good). I hope our grandchildren can come and see it —and have the same amount of enjoyment as we are having.”
His wife, Mrs. Carol Fredrick agreed, and said, “This is so marvelous.”
At the heart of a Shen Yun performance is classical Chinese dance, both one of the most comprehensive and hardest dance systems to master in the world, according to Shen Yun’s website.
Mrs. Fredrick admired the dancing and said seeing the show deepened her appreciation for classical Chinese culture, “Their dedication to beauty, and precision, extraordinary talents in all phases of art, and production. Just being able to put forth the beauty to the world, and what goes into the world. I would love to have gone to China sometime. But I don’t think I will ever get there. But it would have been wonderful.”
Mr. Fredrick said, “We will call our son and our daughter-in-law, and take the grand-children to watch it—because it is SO wonderful. Everything! They are such athletes! So that’s really important, the dress, the way they move. It is such a great evening!”
He explained that because he had served in the Far East, his interest in Eastern culture was piqued. “I was in the military, and I spent a year in the Far East. I speak a little bit of Chinese. Yes, it means A LOT to me, and my wife knew that. So, this is just a wonderful evening for me. The Far-Eastern history, the Far-Eastern dancing, the Far-Eastern culture is very, very interesting to me. So this is a wonderful evening, a wonderful evening.”
Mrs. Fredrick admired various aspects of the show. “This is so marvelous. The talent, the artistic production in all parts of it, the costuming, the backdrops, the surprises with the Monkey King coming off the mountain. I just cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful the Chinese culture is to me as a Westerner.”
Mrs Fredrick expressed her complete delight after seeing Shen Yun for the first time. “It is everything that I had hoped would be, and we are so glad that we are here and brought it to us.”
Mrs. Carol added that she would have a lasting memory of tonight’s show. “Smiles. Lots and lots of smiles. And lots of beautiful dreams, and the beautiful magazines,” she said, indicating the program book. “This is just happiness, just pure happiness for me!”
Reporting by SOH radio network and Jeanmarie Lunsford.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will be at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo for one more performance on March 18 at 2 p.m. before traveling to the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison for two performances on April 4 and 5.
For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
