SALT LAKE CITY—Utah State Representative Quinn Kotter attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater on Feb. 25.
It was his second time seeing the performance, and Rep. Kotter thought the whole show was magnificent, enlightening, and deeply touching.
“The dancers’ portrayal is so genuine and deeply inspiring to me,” he said. “The flexibility, the strength, the athleticism, the beauty, the costumes—it’s wonderful. That must have taken hours of practice.”
“You can’t beat the live orchestra. It made the whole performance touch the heart.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded by a group of leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of China’s ruling communist party. In the decades since the regime’s violent takeover, Chinese traditional culture was forced to the brink of destruction.
Though Shen Yun is currently banned by the Chinese Communist Party from performing in China, Rep. Kotter hopes that “[Shen Yun] would give the Chinese people the courage to start waking up, to have the courage to bring back what was lost.”
“The effect that communism had on the light of culture—to see all that beauty in the dance be taken away—really affected me deeply,” Rep. Kotter said.
For him, Shen Yun serves as a reminder to all Americans that “we need to realize and assume our responsibilities as citizens to prevent [communism] from happening here.”
“If I were to ask ‘who is the emperor in America?’ It’s every citizen. It’s written in the constitution that every citizen has the power. So, if we don’t do our duties as citizens, the power will concentrate into a small group of individuals—that’s what we don’t want to happen in America.”
“The freedom of your religion and your belief is so fundamental. It’s something that can’t be taken away by any government, by anybody. That’s something sacred to a person,” he expressed.
“It’s so inspiring to me to see people stand for their beliefs in the face of persecution. I’m just so thankful for what [Shen Yun] is doing. They are always welcome in Utah.”
“If you ever feel like you’re not doing anything, just know that you are inspiring millions of people. So, please, keep your efforts going.”Reporting by Yue Yi, Mary Mann, and Jennifer Tseng.
