ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—In his own words, banking executive John Puffer found Shen Yun Performing Arts to be outstanding.
“The choreography is excellent, the music is excellent,” said Mr. Puffer, who is the chairman of the Pilot Bank. Until recently, he was also the president and CEO of the bank before retiring from those roles.
Mr. Puffer saw the Shen Yun performance with his wife, Blanche, at the Mahaffey Theater on Wednesday evening.
“I enjoyed the movement of the dancers, and I loved the music,” Mrs. Puffer said, echoing her husband’s admiration of the performance.
Mr. Puffer also noted that Shen Yun gave them great insight into the Chinese culture.
According to the Shen Yun website, the classical Chinese dance and music company was formed in 2006 by a group of leading classical Chinese artists with a mission to revive China’s 5,000 years of history and culture.
Based in New York and independent of the Chinese regime, the company enjoys artistic freedom and tours the globe each year with an entire new line-up of dances and music performances.
Through the performance, Mr. Puffer said he could see themes of contentment with life in Chinese culture and said he sees some commonality in traditional Chinese culture and the principles on which America was founded.
Mrs. Puffer commended Shen Yun’s mission of reviving the traditional culture and said it would be good to emphasize positive values such as responsibility in culture.
“I think that the young people should come to see [Shen Yun] and to appreciate the customs—from both countries [the United States and China],” Mrs. Puffer said.
The couple said they also enjoyed the music played by the Shen Yun Orchestra, which combines traditional Chinese instruments with a Western orchestra, creating a unique sound.
Mrs. Puffer also marveled at the beauty of the colorful costumes in Shen Yun. “The costumes are beautiful,” she said.
With reporting by Edie Bassen
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
