“The costumes, the backdrops—their performance is extraordinary.”

“I studied a little [about China] because I come from Romania and we had special relations with China. It’s a very rich culture. For sure, this has changed a bit because of the communist system, but before that, it was a very well-respected nation, an extraordinary civilization. Now it’s being stifled by the communist dictatorship, which we [as Romanians] know about; we went through that. It’s sad because of this, but this group [Shen Yun], they want to bring a little bit of China, of their ancient culture, here on our stage.”

“[What I can see from the performance about traditional Chinese culture is that] they place emphasis on being rather than having. Also, honor and honesty are fundamental values of that time. During communism [these days], it’s another story, but at the time of the true Chinese civilization, it was like that. [Shen Yun] wants to bring on stage the true moral values so that we don’t forget.”

“I saw [Shen Yun’s advertisements] on television and I loved their performance. Watching them on stage, you can really feel it, you’re part of what’s going on. The artists’ movements are also very expressive–they communicate the culture.”

“There is so much to learn about Chinese culture, so much we can learn from it, especially from the ancient Chinese civilization. It’s sad what’s going on today. [As Romanians,] we have also gone through that, and now we’re trying to get up again. But it’s difficult to live under a dictatorship.”

“That’s because communism in general, especially as a dictatorship, tries to destroy all that is good. It imposes things on you. It imposes upon you things that don’t belong to you. But people have to obey, otherwise they face prison. … I understand [the oppression]. That’s why I love this [performance] so much. [Shen Yun] is a really incredible company.”