SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Orlando Patron Says Shen Yun Leaves Her ‘Emotionally Impressed’

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Orlando Patron Says Shen Yun Leaves Her ‘Emotionally Impressed’
Jennifer Lani and Greg Lueck at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on May 22, 2022. Lily Yu/The Epoch Times
ORLANDO, Fla.—Operational manager Jennifer Lani and COO Greg Lueck were impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on May 22.

“This is my second time,” said Ms. Lani, “We’re always impressed by the artistry, the costumes, the gracefulness of the dancers, and the divine message behind each dance.”

“I come away just highly impressed—emotional actually—for the experience,” she said.

Based out of New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company.

Through the universal language of music and dance, Shen Yun presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. The company’s website says its performance this year demonstrates “China before communism.”

“I’ve been to China, and you can’t see this kind of tradition anymore,” Mr. Lueck said.

“So what [Shen Yun] is sharing with us is so meaningful,” he said, “the colors, the energy, the history, the things that we can’t reproduce today—the connection that goes back to mind, body, spirit … just amazing.”

In stark contrast to the divinely inspired and delicate beauty of Shen Yun, Ms. Lani said a performance she saw in mainland China was “loud, noisy, rough, and not pretty.”

But Shen Yun doesn’t avoid the hard topics. In one dance piece, the performers presented human rights atrocities happening in modern China—the state-orchestrated crime of forced organ harvesting from Falun Dafa prisoners of conscience. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution against the peaceful Falun Dafa meditation practice in 1999.
“The message about the surgeon, that was heartbreaking—the story behind that and to know that it still happens these days … heartbreaking,” Ms. Lani said. The surgeon in the story didn’t know the police had just arrested his daughter as she was learning about the Falun Dafa principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance from other adherents.

‘Very Relatable’

Thomas Wang and wife Kim Wang at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on May 22, 2022. (Linda Li/The Epoch Times)
Thomas Wang and wife Kim Wang at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Fla., on May 22, 2022. Linda Li/The Epoch Times

Thomas Wang, founder & CEO of Think Exceptionally, also attended the Shen Yun matinee performance at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando on May 22. He left very touched by the performance and found it to be “very emotional and beautiful.”

“I really enjoyed the diversity … from the Monkey King all the way to today’s time. It’s very relatable,” he said.

Mr. Wang was impressed with Shen Yun’s portrayal of positive spirituality and commented on the relevance and importance it has in our lives.
“In today’s society, we get too caught up with a lot of what’s happening with the news, media or the government, that we don’t take the time to enjoy life,” he said, “I think Shen Yun is doing a great job depicting the importance of seeing the full picture from the cultural history of where we came from, to how it’s impacting our lives today.”

“I almost cried a couple of times because it brings back the memories,” he added.

As a Chinese-American whose parents immigrated from China, he said, “I feel that the depiction of Shen Yun versus current China is very true.”

“Shen Yun is doing a great job reminding us that China is more than just today’s communism,” he added, “It is a fusion of thousands of years’ history, so many different cultures, ethnicities, religions, arts, languages, and people.”

Mr. Wang commented that he was very grateful to Shen Yun’s performers for mastering their arts, with influences from the past and the present, to deliver their message of “China before communism” across different states and cities.

Reporting by Lily Lu, Linda Li, and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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