WASHINGTON—Dave Cleveland, an immigration attorney with Catholic Charities, attended the Tuesday Jan. 25 performance of Shen Yun’s New York Company at the Kennedy Center Opera House. He liked what he saw.
He particularly noted the performances with drums, and the Yi Minority Dance, which features delicate women dancing elegantly while clicking the tops of small, colorful hand held boxes.
Mr. Cleveland also enjoyed Little Mischievous Monks, which is about young Buddhist monks having fun while the abbot is away. He said they way they were horsing around was good and stayed in his memory.
He said the performance was 80 percent happy “and a little bit serious.” The seriousness he felt was appropriate because of the subject matter—the persecution of Falun Gong in China—which he says is “a terrible thing!” Shen Yun in its performance vividly brought to life that modern day struggle to exist righteously.
“We know there are big problems in China,” he said, “Why doesn’t the [Chinese] government leave the people alone?”
Pleased by what he learned and could take away with him, Mr. Cleveland said “it was a good production.”
Judith Voss of Virginia also attended the Jan. 25th performance. Ms. Voss volunteers for a charity in McLean, Virignia, where she is also active with clubs.
Sharing her reaction to Shen Yun after the show, Ms. Voss said “I thought it was divine, I love the costumes, the lighting, the music, the live music really adds to it.”
With reporting by Jeff Chen, Kitty Wang, and Nicholas Zifcak.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
