Shen Yun Is Spectacular and a Lot More Than I Had Expected, Says Former Mayor
Apr 23, 2023
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Bruce Kennedy enjoyed Shen Yun's evening show at The Performing Arts Center of Purchase College on April 22, 2023. (Sally Lin/The Epoch Times)
PURCHASE, N.Y.—Bruce Kennedy, the village administrator and former mayor of Seacliff, N.Y., attended Shen Yun’s evening performance at The Performing Arts Center of Purchase College on April 22.
His interest was piqued after seeing various advertisements for the show. Shen Yun did not disappoint.
“The artistry was so beautiful—the dance, the music, and the colors! It was spectacular and unlike anything I had seen before,” he exclaimed.
“It was very interesting [regarding] the culture and history—it was a lot more than I had expected.”
The world’s leading classical Chinese dance and music company, Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 by a group of leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.
Prior to the regime’s violent takeover and the rampant spread of atheism, China was known as the Celestial Empire—a country deeply rooted in spirituality and the belief in the divine.
For 5,000 years, the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were indelible parts of Chinese people’s everyday life.
Since Shen Yun’s establishment, the New York-based artists have made it their mission to bring back the glory of China’s lost civilization.
This aspect of the performance came as a surprise to Mr. Kennedy, and he thought it was a good learning experience.
“I learned about the spirituality, the religious implications, and how China is so different today than it once was,” he said.
“I think [Shen Yun] is doing an excellent job at educating people about that history. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even know about it—I was unaware, and I am educated.”
Mr. Kennedy appreciated Shen Yun’s efforts in bringing back these traditional values because “if we had a little more spirituality in this world, we would live in a much more peaceful world. It’s lacking, and we need it.”
Jon Kerr attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with his family of seven on April 22, 2023. (Yeawen Hung/The Epoch Times)
Also in the audience was entrepreneur Jon Kerr. After doing some research, he decided to bring his family of seven to the performance.
“The show was amazing! The performers were wonderful, the dancing was unbelievable, the costumes were just amazing—it was really wonderful to watch,” he said enthusiastically.
“It gave Americans a piece of Chinese history that we did not rightly understand. [The artists] did a wonderful job, and we’ll come back!”
Reporting by Sally Lin, Yeawen Hung, and Jennifer Tseng.
