‘Opulent,’ ‘Beautiful,’ Norfolk Audience Describe How Shen Yun Stirs the Soul
Jan 08, 2023
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Jonathon Twitero attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Chrysler Hall on Jan. 8 (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times)
NORFOLK, Va.—On Jan. 8, musician Jonathon Twitero finally got to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Chrysler Hall with his sister, who had gifted him tickets for Christmas.
“We wanted to see this for years,” said Mr. Twitero.
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Shen Yun’s mission is to show its audiences the beauty of Chinese culture before communism took power in China and abolished traditional values.
One of Shen Yun’s story dances depicted modern-day China, where followers of Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, are persecuted for their faith.
Mr. Twitero praised Shen Yun’s portrayal of the persecution, which is still happening in China. “I was grateful that they put that in there and helped us to be aware of what’s going on. It was very well done. It showed the oppression without being too overly oppressive.”
Mr. Twitero was very impressed with the entire production.
“It’s really fantastic. They’ve done such a terrific job of really bringing you into the world that they’re trying to portray between the projections and of appearing on stage and the costumes. They’re so opulent and beautiful,” he said.
Every year, Shen Yun puts on an all-new production, including new choreography, new music, new hand-made costumes, and new backdrops.
In fact, Shen Yun has its own patented backdrop technology, which allows performers “travel” back and forth between the stage and the background.
Mr. Twitero also expressed his appreciation for Shen Yun’s live orchestra, which has a unique combination of Eastern and Western instruments.
“It’s really well put together,“ he said. ”I appreciate the fact that they’ve taken traditional instruments like we hear in our American or European symphony orchestra, and they have added traditional Chinese instruments to that and it’s neat to hear the different tone colors and the different textures that they have added to that. It’s a very refreshing sound and it’s a nice mix.”
“I feel very uplifted. I feel that I’m hearing the very best musicians. They’re very high quality. It really feels like they’re putting their heart and soul into the performance and that it makes what’s happening on the stage mean that much more,” said Mr. Twitero.
Shen Yun’s program comprises of several dance vignettes, story dances, songs performed in the traditional bel canto style, and an erhu solo. An erhu is a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. It has only two strings, but like human vocal cords, it can express a wide range of tones and emotions.
Singer and former TV host Becky Livas attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Chrysler Hall, on Jan. 8 (Jenny Jing/The Epoch Times)
Becky Livas, a singer and former TV host, was impressed by the erhu solo.
“Oh, I love it,” said Ms. Livas. “Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It goes to your soul. It goes deep down into your soul.”
Ms. Livas also found that the lyrics of the songs provoked deep reflections.
“The idea that we need to move back to our old principles, which is what I have been thinking for a long time. I also can see that the people who have produced this feel the same way—that we need to get back to our old ideas, our old values.”
Reporting by Sherry Dong, Jenny Jing, and Wandi Zhu.
