MINNEAPOLIS—“The pageantry and the color and the dancing is all beautiful, but there is a deeper message here and I love that,” said Mr. Harry Schusser. The retired psychotherapist for the department of corrections joined the enthusiastic audience enjoying Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at Minneapolis’s Orpheum Theatre, Fri. Feb. 22.
New York-based Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired civilization through traditional Chinese song and dance. It not only showcases China’s vast history but also presents the breadth and scope of China by including folk and ethnic dances as well as present day issues in China, according to the company’s website.
Mr. Schusser explained that having traveled to China several times, he felt Shen Yun is a beautiful way to present classical Chinese culture, as well as contemporary issues, such as the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
“I believe that the piece that they bring which is not allowed to be spoken of much in China is a very courageous thing. That part is so fundamental in what they are presenting, and I hope the people got that. The pageantry and the color and the dancing is all beautiful, but there is a deeper message here and it is about spirituality and a people, and I love that.”
Mr. Schusser was profoundly moved by the message he saw in the show and elaborated. “It’s a beautiful message! The beauty of the world is here for us to participate in but if we, and they said it very clearly, if we are living in delusion then we don’t get to participate in the world in a way that it can be offered and all it’s beautiful, beautiful gifts. The beauty of nature and the beauty of dance, and humanity, and closeness, all of it. It had so many pieces, it’s a very complicated piece, and yet it looks simplistic. And that is great because you can just sit back and enjoy it. I took more out of it than just the simple entertainment.”
“Classical Chinese dance has a long history of thousands of years, passed down continuously within the imperial palace and ancient Chinese theater and opera,” states the Shen Yun website. Each era and dynasty along with its traditional aesthetic principles come alive with Shen Yun.
Mr. Schusser expressed his admiration for the show and was pleased Shen Yun had returned to Minnesota. “They did a wonderful job of presenting it. I think that this was a wonderful, wonderful venue to come here.”
Reporting by Valerie Avore and Jeanmarie Lunsford.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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