MESA, Ariz.—"I’m just feichang gandong [very touched]. It was just so wonderful,” said Lee Huff, a member of U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon’s Congressional staff, after attending globally-acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the lkeda Theater on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
“Heaven has its angels, and for right now Earth has Shen Yun Performing Arts,” said Mr. Huff.
Lee Huff is a Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Representative Matt Salmon from Arizona and is a former business owner. Huff also served during Rep. Salmon’s first tenure in office as Deputy Chief of Staff of Administration. Like Rep. Salmon, Huff is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and lived abroad in Taiwan.
Shen Yun was born in 2006, when “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 company website.
Now with four touring companies, Shen Yun travels the world every year with an entirely new, original program. 5000 years of Chinese culture comes alive in each performance through breathtaking classical Chinese dance, live orchestral music, intricate handmade costumes, instrumental and vocal soloists, and stunning animated backdrops, says the website.
“It’s just phenomenal, the feeling you get watching them,” said Mr. Huff of the performers. “It’s like being 5000 years old but not feeling a day over 20.”
Mr. Huff said he couldn’t even imagine the amount of time and effort that the dancers and other performers must have dedicated to create a performance so fluid, precise, and beautiful, especially with so many artists on the stage at the same time.
“You put your mind to it and you can do almost anything you want to, and tonight is proof of that,” he said.
“Throughout history almost every culture looked toward the divine for inspiration,” states the Shen Yun website. “Art was meant to uplift, bringing joy to both the people who created and experienced it. It is this principle that drives Shen Yun performers and their art.”
Mr. Huff said he thought the whole performance was simply angelic in its grace and beauty, and he felt fortunate to be able to attend.
Mr. Huff said those who have not seen the Shen Yun “must see it,” saying it was one of the most exciting shows he’s ever seen.
“I kind of felt like this must be what heaven is like,” he said. “People say you can’t experience heaven on Earth—well, tonight we did.”
Shen Yun is ‘A Spectacular Experience’
Audience member, minister, and ballroom dancer Dr. Mitzi Lynton absolutely loved Shen Yun Performing Arts.
“It was amazing,” said Dr. Lynton. “It was my first time seeing it. Very spectacular, beautiful colors, wonderful story, and you get to know more about the Chinese culture.”
Dr. Lynton served as the lead minister for All Faiths church in Sun Lakes, Ariz. for two years and also served as the Congregant Care minister for Creative Living Fellowship in Phoenix, Ariz. for nearly eight years.
She is the Vice President of the board of the Arizona Interfaith Movement, and together with other members of Arizona Interfaith Movement is co-author of two books: Voices of Faith and Interfaith Inspirations for our Globalized World.
Dr. Lynton has also toured Europe as an ice dancer with Holiday on Ice and now teaches ballroom dancing.
Dr. Lynton said the choreography was excellent, at times keeping her on the edge of her seat, and at other times really warming her heart.
She was touched by the artists’ embodiment of virtues such as compassion and kindness and simply helping other people through the stories in the dances.
She said she also felt the qualities of the Golden Rule being demonstrated in the Shen Yun performance, which is doing things to others that you would like to have done to you.
“The golden rule is something that we can all live by, and I think that comes out very clearly in the dancing, in the performance,” she added.
She encouraged everyone to see Shen Yun, saying it is “absolutely spectacular.”
“It will teach you about some aspects of Chinese culture, dancing, you'll be very entertained, and it’s very spiritual as well,” she said.
Reporting by NTD Television, Chiawei Lin, and Sarah Le
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006
