SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Entrepreneur Was Inspired by the Shen Yun Performance

Mar 20, 2014
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Entrepreneur Was Inspired by the Shen Yun Performance

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—Bill Quiros attended a sold-out performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Fred Kavli theater on March 18.

Mr. Quiros is the founder and managing partner of several businesses, located in Valencia and Pasadena, specializing in business information management and real estates.

Mr. Quiroz enjoyed the classical Chinese dance, “It just looks beautiful and artistic.”

“It is not only interesting because it’s so challenging to do what they do, but because it’s so cultural. You’re learning so much more about another culture. We frankly don’t have enough understanding about this culture that we’re seeing,” he said.

The Shen Yun website describes the performance: “Sophisticated dance techniques, an orchestra joining instruments from both the East and West, beautiful costumes, and a stunning back drop—this is Shen Yun at first glance. But digging deeper, one discovers a sea of traditional Chinese culture.”

“In 2006, a group of leading classical Chinese artists came together in New York with one wish: to revive the true, divinely inspired culture of China and share it with the world,” according to the website. “For 5,000 years divine culture flourished in the land of China. Humanity’s treasure was nearly lost, but through breathtaking music and dance, Shen Yun is bringing back this glorious culture.”

Mr. Quiroz was especially touched by the spiritual values shared in the performance. “I’m actually surprised and impressed at the amount of spirituality that I’m seeing,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

The performance includes scenes from both ancient and contemporary China, and in every scene traditional Chinese values are displayed.

The website explains some of those values: “Ideals of loyalty, filial piety, and veneration for the divine are cherished and celebrated. Heroes are extolled for their compassion and tolerance as much as their courage or determination when facing adversity.”

Mr. Quiroz said that it was amazing to him that the concept of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance is not allowed to practice in China.

He was referring to the dance titled The Steadfast Lotus, which depicts the ongoing persecution of people who practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual meditation discipline based on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The persecution was instigated by the Chinese communist regime in 1999 and continues to this day.

Mr. Quiroz was inspired by the resilience of Falun Gong practitioners. “The inspiration comes as it always has, the struggle to be able to practice our beliefs, our personal beliefs, and our religion,” he said. “But not surprising, because humans have been doing that since the beginning of time, fighting to be able to believe what they want to believe.”

As the website explains, “Forcing atheism upon society, the Chinese Communist Party has for decades launched various campaigns—most notably the Cultural Revolution—to destroy not only cultural sites, temples, and relics, but also the Chinese people’s belief in virtue and faith in the divine.”

“How could that be any consequence to a government, especially as large and powerful as the Chinese government?” said Mr. Quiroz. “And that they would disapprove of it and outlaw it. It is very disappointing.”

Reporting by Flora Ge and Thanh Le

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