PORTLAND, Ore.—As the Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company withdraws from Oregon after its four-performance weekend featuring the very best of traditional Chinese culture, it makes way for Vancouver, B.C., ahead of its run of four performances that begin on Jan. 23.
For several years, Shen Yun has been visiting the Keller Auditorium to share its treasure that is the 5,000-year civilization of the Middle Kingdom—China.
With stunning visual displays of classical Chinese dance and the auditory delights of divine sounds blending distinct Chinese music with Western orchestration, Shen Yun offers an experience like no other.
From attorneys to county commissioners, doctors to government officials, Shen Yun was en-pointe once more at the Keller Auditorium, Jan. 17–19.
Dr. John Helton found what he described as a “divine symmetry” in Shen Yun, adding that he was especially affected by the performers standing up for something as important as the expression of spirit, an aspect of traditional culture suppressed in modern-day China.
“So, I really salute the spirit of this,” he said. “Members of this cast have the courage to express that, and I’m very touched by all of the beauty.”
As for John Kenneth Johnson, a government official who works for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, he was most heartened by the deeply rooted inner meanings contained in each second that Shen Yun passes through.
“I was very, very moved by it,” he said. Excellence, he noted, was a part of every aspect of the performance.
“The precision, and the spacing, and everything, was flawless,” he said.
Candace Scott, CEO of Mt. Angel Vitamin Company, agreed about the perfection. “All parts of it,” she said. “It was done in a very creative way.”
Contained in each Shen Yun performance are ancient Chinese principles, at once both profound and all-encompassing: “Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution, all come to life,” according to Shen Yun’s website.
Such principles are able to thrive through Shen Yun’s display of timeless stories and divine heroes. Furthermore, imbedded in Chinese civilization is its documented history that has been passed down uninterrupted—often in vivid detail—for 5,000 years.
Bob Maloney, a lawyer with over 40 years of courtroom experience, took special note of “the importance of dance and religious beliefs in the Chinese culture for the last 5,000 years, and how it has gone through that process with beautiful scenery, dragons, and other things that are wonderful to view and to enjoy.”
“I’m just interested in the culture and the beauty of China,” he added.
For Washington County Commissioner Bob Terry, he sensed the special awareness of universal values important for humankind to understand one another.
“Just to share the arts bridges the communication,” he said, adding that it’s an act prone to grow exponentially: “And when you share, the children learn their history and their culture.”
Shen Yun’s mission to revive the past while reminding mankind of its sincere and kind nature through storytelling was not lost on Commissioner Terry. “But it takes back with your ancient history and brings it forward to the culture to today,” he said.
As another year came and passed, Shen Yun proved as good as ever for audiences at Portland’s Keller auditorium. Its veneration for the divine, its perfection of music and dance, and its roots in a 5,000-year-old history makes Shen Yun a must-see every time its curtains rise.
“You have not seen something like that before,” added Commissioner Terry. “It’s just wonderful what they’ve done.”
And certainly, it would appear that the wonders of Shen Yun have done it again.
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.
