“We’ve been stuck in the house for two years. So, it’s good to finally get out,” said John Herman, an executive in a health and wellness company.
“We’re always very careful and …. [the precautions] … at the theater made us feel comfortable,” said Vanessa Herman, Insight Director at Olson Zaltman, a market research company.
“It was really cool, the fans and sleeves—unlike anything I’ve seen before,” she said.
“The music is incredible,” said Vanessa.
In reviving China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture, Shen Yun is also reviving its spiritual heritage, where harmony existed between heaven, earth, and human beings.
The mini-drama, “Insanity during the End of Days,” was a revelation for Vanessa. This is a story of a young Falun Gong practitioner who was persecuted by the communist regime because of her faith.
A Birthday Gift
“It’s fantastic. It’s been really good,” said Pastor Jonathon Fehl who, with his 8-year old daughter, also enjoyed Shen Yun.He noted that the precautions taken by the theater to eliminate the risk to people from the pandemic were helpful in calming fears about attending the performance.
Fehl said his young daughter had been sitting on the edge of her seat throughout the performance, just watching.
“When we got here, she said she was smiling so big that her cheeks were hurting. Because you’ve been so excited for this for months,” said Fehl to his daughter. He had bought tickets to Shen Yun as a gift for his daughter’s birthday as she had been keen to attend for many years.
The Monkey King dance prompted Fehl’s daughter’s eyes “perk up” as she had already heard about it before, said her father.
Fehl was already aware of the persecution of religious groups in China.
“Not only of Falun Dafa, but of Christian believers,” he enlarged.
Fehl was also touched by the mini-drama, “Insanity During the End of Days.” The dance, portraying the intense suffering of a father and daughter, was powerful, said Fehl.
He commented how in some parts of the world [the authorities] were clamping down on religions and in other places, people were simply abandoning their religious beliefs.
“The dancing and the music as well … it fits so well together… it’s so well done,” he said.
“We were talking about it on the way over here, how the United States is not even 250 years old, but how far back the Chinese culture stretches. It’s hard to fathom,” said Fehl.
“I love to see what the human body can do and the ways that they’re able to use it with the dance is fantastic.”
