SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Brought A Renewal of ‘Life and Hope’ Says Florida Playwright

Mar 22, 2023

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.—Dwight Marshalleck, teacher, author, and playwright, was invigorated and inspired by Shen Yun Performing Arts at Broward Center for the Performing Arts on March 21.

“I love the flow and the movement [and] the use of color with that [digital] background,” he said. The shift in color and tone from some of the dance stories he said, “brought a refreshing, new, invigorating feel, life and hope.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Along with folk dances and solo performances, the production depicts story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Capturing Emotions

Mr. Marshalleck said the “major core of this presentation” was the dance acting element in conjunction with the 3D animated backdrop.

Shen Yun utilizes a cutting-edge patented digital backdrop that allows the performers to remarkably travel back and forth between the stage and the background projection.

“I love that cinematography mixed with live acting and how everything flows out of the historic background into a modern sort of scene or to a dynamic scene on stage,” he said.

“This performance really captures feelings … feelings and emotions are very alive!”

Freedom to Express Beauty

Stirred by the story-based dance portraying the persecution of Falun Dafa (a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance), Mr. Mashalleck said he felt sorrow and empathy for the repression happening in China.

“As an educator, we believe in freedom and all kinds of evolution that takes place in the sense that teaching and learning evolves and changes and must bring the best out in people,” he said.

“What I love about America is the individual is encouraged to pursue your art, your science, your innovation … one has the opportunity to explore their own freedoms,” he added.

He appreciated Shen Yun’s mission to revive ancient and traditional culture—China before communism—saying the performance was, “a bridge to the past where life was certainly more artistic and free flowing with nature and with people being more creative and expressive.”

‘The Heart of China’

Business owner Micael Gautier at Broward Center for the Performing Arts on March 21, 2023. (NTD)

Micael Gautier, business owner of Kingdom Processing, LLC, was enamored by Shen Yun’s expression of traditional culture.

Mr. Gautier and his wife also attended the Shen Yun performance at Broward Center for the Performing Arts on March 21.

“Artistic, outstanding, magnificent,” said Mr. Gautier, “the artists are amazing … [and] the music is breathtaking!”

“[Shen Yun] really honed in on the heart of China,” he said, “I love how [they] brought the vision of China’s past to life.”

The history, the culture of China—especially the old school—is something that I love,” he added, “to bring that culture back, it’s something that I’m excited to see!”

Expressions of Modesty

Mr. Gautier was most impressed by the presentation of the traditional values and expressions between men and women.

“The way that this show depicts the women and the men in the show is something that you can’t compare … it’s wonderful!”

Traditionally, women in ancient China expressed propriety through modesty, grace, gentility, and nurture, while men expressed valor through strength, honor, and piety. When translated into dance, women express a more refined, delicate nature, while the men are said to perform with more power and dynamism.

“It’s the modesty that I really took from this show, and I really appreciate it,” he said, “that’s something that I pride myself to do in my own family.”

China’s authentic culture is inseparable from its spiritual heritage—where a pantheon of divine beings, spiritual cultivators, and mythology has shaped the culture for 5,000 years, according to the company’s website.

Mr. Gautier said it was an amazing experience to feel the “raw emotions” arising within himself from the power of the final scene, and also to witness the tears from the audience members around him, he said, “you can’t put a price on that.”

Reporting by NTD and Jennifer Schneider.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.