Shen Yun ‘An Amazing Display of China Before Communism,’ Says Retired Lieutenant Colonel
Feb 18, 2023
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Ron Thornton attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with his daughter at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, on Feb. 18, 2023. (Sally Sun/The Epoch Times)
SAN ANTONIO—Ron Thornton, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel with a love for history, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts with his daughter at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 18. Mr. Thornton was greatly impressed with Shen Yun’s presentation of China before communism.
“I thought it was an amazing display of China before communism, and the beauty in the art and the music that came to the audience was just nothing short of outstanding,” he said. “You have nothing from me but positive feedback on this experience today.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its goal is to revive traditional Chinese culture and to show its audiences what China was like before the communist regime seized power.
Mr. Thornton said that Shen Yun’s performance was “nothing short of an amazing experience,” and that he was glad he was able to share the experience with his daughter.
“I want to show her now as she’s getting older that there are some beautiful cultures out there yet to be experienced,” said Mr. Thornton.
He added that he had waited five years to see Shen Yun and waited for his daughter to be old enough to appreciate the performance. “Now she can appreciate it and understand that there’s this big, beautiful world out there, 5,000 years of culture from China that we need to understand.”
According to the Shen Yun website, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine” and its traditional culture was deeply rooted in spiritual teachings. Shen Yun’s opening dance depicts divine beings following the Creator down to earth to establish Chinese civilization.
Mr. Thornton said that as Christians, he and his daughter were able to see the similarities between Shen Yun’s portrayal of the divine and the Christian faith. He shared that he currently teaches 11th and 12thgrade students at his church and that many of the values he teaches can be seen in Shen Yun’s performance.
“We need to have a sound faith in our lives and know that there’s a Creator waiting to bring us to Him when our days are done on the Earth.”
Annan and Darren Hallam attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, on Feb. 18, 2023. (Sally Sun/The Epoch Times)
Also in the audience were Darren Hallam, a United States Air Force systems engineer, and his wife, Annan Hallam, a nurse. Mrs. Hallam said they enjoyed the performance “from the beginning up to the end.”
The couple praised Shen Yun’s live orchestra and patented animated background. Mr. Hallam was touched by the lyrics from the songs performed in the traditional bel canto style.
“There’s one line on the song where it says the divinity is right here beside us, and that’s what we’ve got to realize,” he said. “It’s not like we’re waiting for it. It’s here already. I think that was a spiritual message that [Shen Yun] obviously realizes [and] that a lot of us here don’t.”
“[I] also like the fact that [the lyrics] say we’re all from heaven waiting to return. I like that.”
Mr. and Mrs. Hallam agreed on how meaningful Shen Yun’s message was.
“The message, I think, was the most important part,” said Mr. Hallam.
