FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—In this tropical, coastal city, 23 miles north of Miami, many people’s work has to do with the sea. Ross Gregg owns a company that sells forklifts for lifting boats from the water. He saw Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company at the Broward Center for Performing Arts on opening night, Feb. 10.
Mr. Gregg said the meaning in the song lyrics appealed to him: “I thought the singing was outstanding, and I loved the meaning up on the backstage where they talked about the meaning of God and the purpose of life [”What Is the Meaning of Life,“ with soprano Chia-Ning-Hsu]. I thought that was very good, excellent.”
Shen Yun includes vocalists who sing in Chinese in the bel canto style. The lyrics are projected onto the backdrop in two languages, Chinese and the language of the host country.
As so many people do, Mr. Gregg responded to the visual side of the performance: “I love the colors, the beautiful colors. Purple is my favorite,” he said.
Ms. Armenti also has a nautical occupation. “I’m an artist and I work on a yacht,” she said, adding that she’s a chef on a private yacht.
She was also seeing Shen Yun for the first time. “As they say in the Spanish language, ‘encantada.’” It was enchanting. It was so enchanting and fascinating, and the dancers were so driven—they had a passion and a purpose for what they were doing.”
Ms. Armenti said she felt very fortunate to experience the beauty of Shen Yun. “It was a blessing.” She said she felt blessed “to see the culture of the Chinese through their dance and their love of their history, through movement, through their history.” “It was beautiful.”
According to the 2012 program, “It’s about the grace, compassion, and sublime beauty of heavenly realms that are shown through the subtlest expressions of our dancers.”
“The passion was evident in every movement of their hands and their feet,” Ms. Argenti said.
Mr. Gregg said he felt buoyed by the experience: “Inspiring, uplifting, very good. We enjoyed it.”
Ms. Armenti asked what Shen Yun meant, and upon hearing that it means the beauty of heavenly beings dancing, laughed and said, “Well, we were dancing in the heavenlies with Shen Yun!”
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will be at the Broward Center for Performing Arts, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 10–12.
Reporting by Sally Sun and Mary Silver.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
