RALEIGH, N.C.—Singer and choral group director Carolyn Lane marveled at the beauty and joy of Shen Yun Performing Arts’ performance of classical Chinese dance and music at Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh, North Carolina on Jan. 10.
“It’s powerful, one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot,” Ms. Lane said.
Ms. Lane has traveled all over the country with her husband, a pilot, directing choral groups everywhere she went. She was amazed by the Shen Yun’s Orchestra, which uniquely combines Eastern and Western musical traditions, calling it incredible and marvelous.
“As a professional, I couldn’t ask for a better ensemble of people if I was directing something like this,” she said of the orchestra. “They were all filled with energy and happiness and joy of what they are doing and learning.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture through the universal language of dance and music. For eight years they have toured the world, delighting audiences with dazzling displays of choreography, brilliantly colored costumes, and traditional Chinese stories and legends.
“The whole show is just magnificent. I was so touched by the energy and the message,” Ms. Lane said. “Good energy, happiness, joy, and truth—that’s what I got from this show. ... Live life, be truthful, be true to yourself, and use every bit of your energy for good.”
Ms. Lane was moved by Shen Yun’s stories of both ancient and contemporary China. “I smiled all night except when I cried a little bit,” she said. “Some of the storytelling was very powerfully sad. I can’t recall the moments, but there were those moments.”
She said the performance opened up “understanding of not only Chinese culture, but just what is good for the whole world.”
“The strongest point to me was what truth came out, the truth of what life is all about,” she said.
Shen Yun features world-class dancers who perform difficult spins, flips, and tumbling techniques with grace.
“Those little feet, just moving and gliding and almost not touching anything, it was marvelous,” Ms. Lane said. “The foot work, and the muscles ... the spectacular abilities that these young people have, it blew me away.”
Ms. Lane thanked Shen Yun and the orchestra and said, “I wish I could go back. I’m still floating on this whole experience.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Sally Appert.
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.
