CLEVELAND—Professors Howard and Jeanie Mosley Hall, husband and wife, couldn’t have been more delighted after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company perform at Cleveland’s State Theatre, on Feb. 1.
Classical Chinese dancers, award-winning singers, and a full orchestra comprised of both Eastern and Western instruments allow New York-based Shen Yun to bring 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to the world.
That rich civilization was nearly lost after 60 years of deliberate dismantling by the communist regime, according to the company’s website.
Part of that rich, nearly lost tradition is the culture’s ties to spiritual beliefs.
Speaking of China, Dr. Mosley Hall said, “The fact that they have veered so greatly from the original spirituality—we kind of knew that, but just to see it in the performance, it just brings to us a little better understanding that … things have changed from what the original culture was like.
“It just made it just more profound after watching,” she added.
“It really couldn’t be more comprehensive view of some of mythology, beliefs, the spirituality we embrace,” Dr. Hall said.
“For me, it’s the spirituality—just the beauty of the integration of nature. I also noticed that in all of the backdrops—the beauty, the flowers, the blossoms, the trees, the greenery—we need to work with nature, and that was profound as well,” Dr. Mosley Hall said.
Not only did the colorful backdrops contribute to her appreciation of the performance’s spirituality, but the songs did as well.
“One of the things I really appreciated was having the words on the screen, because, I mean, we can appreciate the beautiful talent and the musicians, but if you don’t know what they are saying—and the words were just touching—so that they’d put lyrics on the screen for us to understand,” she said.
The spiritual connection between man and God is mainly highlights through classical Chinese dances. Yet the company also performs folk dances, and these demonstrate the breadth of the indigenous peoples of China.
“I had deep appreciation for the Chinese culture as they went through it, and I can identify with it. It is beautiful to see that culture coming back with its strength and richness. We can’t destroy indigenous cultures,” Dr. Hall said.
“We embrace that, we could praise diversity, so it’s a perfect match,” he also said.
The couple feels strong support for indigenous peoples for good reason. Jeanie Mosley Hall, associate professor in the Department of American Sign Language/Deaf Interpretive Services at Cuyahoga Community College, is half Nanticoke Indian.
Dr. Howard Hall, specializes in behavioral pediatrics as assistant professor in Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Hall felt the performance had “direct relevance to my field; I’m a professor in the medical school and hospital, and Chinese medicine is an integral part of what I’m doing.”
How did the couple stumble upon a Shen Yun and a performance that suited them so well?
“I was at Tremont Art Festival and someone was passing out flyers,” Dr. Mosley Hall said. “I looked at it, but there were two ladies in front of me, and saying, ‘We go all the time and it is wonderful,’ so I heard that and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to take a chance to see what this is about.’”
They were not disappointed: “It kept you interested the entire time. We just loved it. I look forward to coming back next year,” Dr. Mosley Hall said.
Reporting by Catherine Wen and Sharon Kilarski
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.
