DENVER—As Shen Yun Performing Arts graced the stage of Denver’s Buell Theatre, Mike Skinner and Kelli Mackey attended and took in every moment of the performance.
“It was lovely, lovely—yes,” said Ms. Mackey, Senior Director of Sales for bieMEDIA LLC, a video production company. “Very colorful. It was full of life; it told wonderful stories; it was very educational for me.”
“I thought it was beautiful. The music was incredible, and the costumes were my favorite part,” added Mr. Skinner, project manager for The Transtec Group, an engineering and design firm.
Through music and dance, Shen Yun seeks to revive 5,000 years of China’s divinely imparted culture, a culture nearly ruined after 60 years of communist rule, according to the company’s website.
Ms. Mackey was touched by the insight into the cultural issues plaguing China today. “It has brought things to life, that being in the West I was not aware of, that are happening today,” she said.
As for Shen Yun’s mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, Mr. Skinner agreed. “I was surprised, pleasantly surprised and happy to see that this show was standing up for China,” he said.
“So the fact that it is based out of China and they can freely present the numbers about communism being repressive—I had no idea to expect that in this show, and I thought that was great.”
He added that the performance was also “very enlightening from a cultural perspective.”
Though enlightening, the couple felt the more tangible aspects of the performance were just as worthy. “A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance,” reads Shen Yun’s website.
“I thought it was an incredible show. It was so different. Like I said, the music and the costumes were my favorite part,” added Mr. Skinner.
For Ms. Mackey the digital backdrop “was a wonderful addition to the show. I had never seen a show with that before, and I thought it was a great element to bring to the audience.”
The backdrops seem to interact with the live performers.
“I think we came to be entertained, but I think we learned something, too,” she said in conclusion.
Reporting by Qian Zhang and Michael Fitzgerald
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.
