DALLAS—“Passion, beauty, art, gentleness,” was Mr. Gordon Voegeli’s summary after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for his first time.
Mr. Voegeli, founder of the multi-family construction company, Unity Construction & Painting Inc., and contractor for many national residential developers like Archstone Communities, saw Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra in Dallas during the orchestra’s first North American Tour last year
After the orchestra, he decided that he had to see Shen Yun perform.
“It was divine by its order, and it’s absolutely, perfectly majestic in the way that it brought that magic together to that illumination of that combination of art, dance, music,” Mr. Voegeli said at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Jan. 4.
Through the universal languages of music and dance, the New York-based Shen Yun brings 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life.
Mr. Voegeli’s first impression: “Absolutely amazing.”
“The costumes, the dance, the meaning, the combination of the artistry and the music—it was refined so much that it made one with the dance and the music,” he said. “It was gorgeous, absolutely beautiful.”
The beauty of Shen Yun’s artistry was not just visual, as it brought out the stories of thousands of years for Mr. Voegeli.
The combination of the art, the storytelling, and the passion carried by the performers brought “the unmanifest to manifest, from the divine to the human form,” Mr. Voegeli said.
The story of China’s culture and history is one close to Mr. Voegeli’s heart. Just last year he adopted his daughter from China, and many members of his family are Chinese as well. However, as beautiful as the culture and art forms presented by Shen Yun are, the performance is not one that can see in China today, a reality not lost on Mr. Voegeli.
“I have very strong passions in regards to that situation,” he said.
Under the current regime in China, Chinese traditional values have been suppressed and nearly lost.
“It’s criminal,” Mr. Voegeli said, adding that he wished the best for Shen Yun’s mission and its performers.
“Give them my love and send them the best wishes in God’s good grace to continue with their practice, their art, their form, and their dignity,” Mr. Voegeli said.
“That’s what they’ve brought is their dignity, which we in this country have—the freedom to express with honesty and integrity and in truth.”
Reporting by Rich Rangel and Catherine Yang
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.
