SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is Important for the Next and Current Generation, Says Investor

Jan 15, 2023
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Shen Yun Is Important for the Next and Current Generation, Says Investor
Mr. David Buttress attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Theatre on Jan. 15, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)

OXFORD, UK—Investor David Buttress attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the New Theatre on Jan. 15. For Mr. Buttress, Shen Yun was an opportunity to learn about a foreign culture.

“I think it’s incredible [and] unique,” said Mr. Buttress. “It’s not often you get the chance to see something that’s so original and different to anything you can watch ... It’s really original and unique. I think it’s [an] amazing thing for someone from our culture to watch something like this, which is just totally different.”

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. Over the years, Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally-sized companies that tour the world simultaneously. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture, which was lost when the communist regime took power.
Mr. Buttress expressed his belief in the importance of returning to tradition.
“It’s really important. Not just for the Chinese people, [but] for everyone in the world, because … China is such a culture of rich, deep history, and if you don’t maintain those traditions and share them, eventually they do get lost.”

China was once known as the “Land of the Divine,” and its culture was founded on the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. This was all abolished by the atheist communist government.

Shen Yun presents these spiritual elements of Chinese culture. The performance’s opening piece depicts divine beings following the Creator down to Earth to establish Chinese civilization.

Mr. Buttress said that even today, China’s traditional values are relevant to all cultures.

“If you think about human beings, that one thing we always search for is an explanation of where we come from and where we’re going,” said Mr. Buttress “I think this (Shen Yun) is a Chinese interpretation of exactly that, and I think what’s great about it is, there’s lots of lessons that were as relevant 2,000 years ago, 3,000 years ago as they are today.

“That’s why … it’s important that you share this stuff now, not just for Chinese culture, but for the whole world. Actually, there’s stuff in here that you could learn and take forward.”

“It’s important that you keep these lessons and keep these cultural learnings for the next generation and our current generation,” he said.

Reporting by Mary Mann and Wandi Zhu.

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

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