Matthew, CEO of a communications company, described Shen Yun as “unique,” and said that it was very important to bring back traditional culture.
“It’s nice to see something that is recognizably different [from other performances] … but that it has an element of tradition … and to be able to see something that I’ve never seen before is very entertaining,” he said.
New York-based Shen Yun’s goal is to show the world the true Chinese culture, one that survived for over 5,000 years but was all but destroyed by the Chinese communist regime within 70 years.
She felt the idea that ‘communism is not really that bad’ was being pushed in society with some people being influenced by it.
“And then you see the perspective of people who have been [living under] those kinds of governments and what they think of them. It’s very interesting to … get that point of view from a different country,” she said.
“It’s really cool. I’ve been dancing for four years, but obviously not in this style of dance. So, it’s really interesting and really cool to see all of the different intricacies that aren’t in my corner of dance,” she said.
Matthew was surprised by how much he enjoyed the performances. “And the intricate movements of the different props have been very good across all the different dances,” he said.
“[It was] excellent. I actually leaned over to my daughter at one point and was making the comment that it’s hard to believe that [the music] is not recorded because it’s so clean. It’s very enjoyable,” he said.
While Shen Yun can be seen in most countries, it has been banned in China.
“It’s sad that we have societies that move in a way that they want to suppress the past. And to not be able to have it shown, or seen, or enjoyed … also expresses that there may be some greater power in [Shen Yun] that they’re worried about it,” said Matthew.
With restrictions around the pandemic being loosened, more people are beginning to resume a normal life.
“It’s great to be here with everyone and see the joy and the happiness that’s just been expressed through the dance. And so, it’s very encouraging,” said Matthew.
