Over a dozen congressmen and both senators from New York have expressed their congratulations and support for the classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is entering its tenth year of worldwide tours.

In the 16 greeting letters and certificates, members of New York’s delegation to Congress commended Shen Yun for its revival and promotion of traditional Chinese culture on a global scale.

“Shen Yun Performing Arts is an artistic staple in New York, throughout the United States, and around the world,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer in his greeting letter.

Based on a campus in the countryside north of New York City, Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded and began touring in 2006. According to its website, Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the 5,000-year-old traditional Chinese culture that was suppressed under communist rule. The company performs in over 100 cities across dozens of nations and puts on a new show every year.

“The shows put on by Shen Yun Performing Arts serve not only as expression of music and dance of the highest quality, but also educate the audience in Ancient Chinese morals, traditions, and culture,” Schumer’s letter said.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wrote, “Shen Yun has dazzled audiences around the world with the artistry of its dancers and musicians and the lush spectacle of its sets and costumes.”

Fourteen members of the House of Representatives also extended their greetings to Shen Yun, which will perform multiple shows at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center starting Jan. 14. In the letters and proclamations, the undersigned commended Shen Yun for its rich traditional content, artistic ability, choreography, and orchestral music with both eastern and western instrumentation.

Wrote Congressman Jerrold Nadler: “Through the use of classically trained dancers, an orchestra, and dazzling animated backdrops Shen Yun weaves ancient legends and modern heroic tales to tell the history of 5,000 years.”

Shen Yun was founded by practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline, which is persecuted in China. Among the dances are pieces depicting practitioners’ nonviolent resistance in the face of repression by the communist authorities. Shen Yun is not able to perform in mainland China, and its performances have often been opposed by Chinese consulates around the world.

In his greeting letter, Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, highlighted “how important the artistic freedoms we enjoy here in the West are to organizations like Shen Yun,” which he described as “appointment viewing every year” for theatergoers internationally.”

Wrote Engel: “I am very gratified that we can offer Shen Yun the unfettered platform to perform free of censorship, as I know it has and will continue to be of great benefit to them and us as well.”

“By celebrating this heritage and freedom of expression,” wrote Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, “Shen Yun Performing Arts has become a vital part of New York’s cultural fabric.”

Greeting Letters

Kirsten E. Gillibrand, United States Senator
Charles E. Schumer, United States Senator 
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., House of Representatives
Eliot L. Engel, House of Representatives
Chris Gibson, House of Representatives
Hakeem Jeffries, House of Representatives
Carolyn B. Maloney, House of Representatives
Grace Meng, House of Representatives
Jerrold Nadler, House of Representatives
Nydia M. Velázquez, House of Representatives

Proclamations

Sean Patrick Maloney, House of Representatives
Paul D. Tonko, House of Representatives

Certificates

Yvette Clarke, House of Representatives
Richard L. Hanna, House of Representatives
Elise M. Stefanik, House of Representatives
Lee Zeldin, House of Representatives

Shen Yun will be showing in New York between Jan. 14 and Jan. 17 and March 2 and March 13 at Lincoln Center in Manhattan.

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.

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.