SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Absolutely Wonderful,’ Says Actress

Apr 01, 2014
SHARE
Shen Yun ‘Absolutely Wonderful,’ Says Actress
Lori Saunders loved Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Granada Theatre, on March 30. (Flora Ge/Epoch Times)

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—1960s TV actress Lori Saunders said she was “absolutely loving” Shen Yun Performing Arts on Sunday evening, March 30, at the Granada Theatre.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. I’ve been looking forward to it for a month,” she said. “So really, really wonderful.”

Ms. Saunders was one of the stars of Petticoat Junction, and also appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Dusty’s Trail.

Shen Yun brings thousands of years of Chinese culture to the stage, using classical Chinese dance and music. Tales and legends are further brought to life with a vivid animated backdrop and colorful costumes.

“They’re all so beautiful,” she said of the dances. “Moving and doing, and the energy and all together.”

She was particularly moved by two pieces that are about modern China, which focus on the repression of the Falun Dafa meditation practice. Falun Dafa is rooted in Chinese traditional culture and is based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It has been persecuted in China since 1999.

“I’m a meditator and when I saw this, where they were taking the meditation away, that was really disturbing,” she said, about communist China’s repression of Falun Dafa. “We have to keep meditating.”

Ms. Saunders also saw a universal appeal in Shen Yun, and that everyone would benefit from seeing it.

She said the performance made her feel that “music is symbolic of all spirit and all nature … you know that this is life, and that we’re all feeling the same things, we’re all doing the same things.”

“Everyone needs to go and do this, hear it,” she said.

Reporting by Flora Ge and Ben Bendig

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