WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ryan Crowder, a business director, was deeply taken by Shen Yun Performing Arts after seeing it for the first time at The Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 25
“The lyrics, the dance, I couldn’t even imagine how much time they spent building out their show,” Mr. Crowder said.
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, and since 2006 has become a global phenomenon.“Never knew anything about that before. Seeing the beauty and the culture before the Communist Party really meant a lot to me,“ Mr. Crowder said. ”And learning about the ethnic minority side, that’s something [that] kind of opened up a window in my mind.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of China’s divinely inspired civilization, or, as it has come to describe it in recent years, to show audiences “China before communism.”China Before Communism
“We enjoyed seeing it presented, and seeing what it actually is like ... it’s presenting what’s actually happening in modern-day China,” he said. “I definitely liked seeing how they tied in the communist effect against the people, and then the renewal at the end with the divine being coming and saving everything.”
Dennis Kurre, retired FBI agent, felt he experienced a wonderful trip through history, witnessing the development of China and the culture, and the impact communism had on the 5,000 years of divinely inspired civilization.
“It was especially important to show that under the communists, that people lose their freedoms. They lose their ability to speak, to act—to worship as they choose,” he said.
“I thought it was very poignant,” Mr. Kurre said.
“The gracefulness. The limberness,” he marveled. “They got one foot on the ground and one foot straight up in the air. I mean, the flexibility, the limberness, they seem to float in the air. They’re just so graceful and they’re so beautiful to watch.”
“There’s just so much about it that’s so enjoyable,” he said.
