KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Seldom has there been a more responsive audience to a classical dance and music performance than the one at Shen Yun in Kansas City on May 5. When the Shen Yun Performing Arts dancers exhibited perfect synchronicity, the audience applauded. When the dance-dramas took a comic turn, the audience laughed. When a dancer did a series of flips—physical agility is part of classical Chinese dance—the audience erupted again.
Two ladies, Scarlett Cameron, an administrator of a resident care facility and Debi Anthony, her assistant, were the first two on their feet, applauding heartily after the New York-based Shen Yun performance ended.
“I have never seen anything like it. It was just outstanding in every way,” said Ms. Cameron after the performance.
The pair caught opening night of Shen Yun—the first performance of the last leg of Shen Yun’s Midwest tour for 2015, which ends May 7.
Ms. Anthony, a percussionist “way back when,” found the music accompanying the short dances in the program delightful.
She was overwhelmed by the Chinese erhu, a two-string, violin-like instrument that sits upright on the players’ lap, and has a haunting sound.
“Blew me away, blew me away, two strings and she could do all that,” Ms. Anthony said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Ms. Cameron added.
“I didn’t think two strings could do all of that because we grew up on piano—that’s a lot of strings,” Ms. Anthony said, drawing a laugh.
Shen Yun aims to restore traditional, cherished values, embedded in China’s 5,000 years of civilization, a civilization believed to be divinely inspired. These values came across to the ladies.
“I think it’s a great lesson for everyone,” Ms. Cameron said. “I am just so happy they are presenting it.”
“We have had so much trash,” she noted in a straightforward way. Much of entertainment nowadays involves scantily dressed performers, “and loud noise they call music, and this is real. This really is what it’s all about. Everyone was dressed appropriately, and they did amazing things,” she said.
“Outstanding, not the kind of music you are used to hearing nowadays,” Ms. Anthony agreed.
The ladies were gratified to see the spiritual messages throughout. “It reminded me that we came from heaven and we shall return, so let’s be nice to each other in the meantime,” Ms. Anthony said.
“Very touching, very touching,” she said.
Speaking of why the pair were among the first to lead the standing ovation, Ms. Cameron said, “The people—the entertainment—was so outstanding that I felt like each and every person there deserved a standing ovation. There wasn’t one better than the other, they were just fabulous.”
“I noticed that the conductor of the orchestra was a woman, and it touched me,” Ms. Anthony added.
Reporting by Cat Rooney and Sharon Kilarski
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
