AUSTIN, Texas—Shen Yun Performing Arts was a powerful experience for Suzanna and Greg Hupp and their children Saturday afternoon, at the Long Center for the Performing Arts, in Austin Dec. 28.
New York-based Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through music and dance.
“I think it’s a very important aspect, to keep that alive,” said Mr. Hupp, a psychologist.
Mr. Hupp was glad to see “all the various angles of the culture,” including a number of ethnic and folk dances from China’s fifty-plus ethnic groups. “It was interesting to see all the cultural influences,” Mr. Hupp said.
Mrs. Hupp, a former Texas House of Representatives member and radio host, was glad to share Shen Yun with her children. Mrs. Hupp survived Luby’s massacre in Killeen, Texas, a mass shooting in 1991. She later advocated against gun control.
Mrs. Hupp said, being in America and reading about China was far from being able to experience the culture as Shen Yun presented it.
She said she was particularly moved when she learned that Shen Yun is not yet welcome in China. The traditional values Shen Yun revives through the performing arts, like benevolence and truthfulness, are persecuted by the Chinese regime, as Mrs. Hupp learned.
The dance A Steadfast Lotus, touched on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that the communist regime has persecuted since 1999. A young person acts with heroic courage in the dance.
“It was important for them to see that,” Mrs. Hupp said, speaking of her children. “I think when you grow up in this culture here, we’re very sheltered ... They read about it, but it’s not the same as really understanding that you can’t practice your beliefs in some other countries, and that’s kind of hard to imagine, because we don’t live it that way here, so I think that was very good for them.
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.
