COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.---When Susan Littlejohn saw Shen Yun Performing Arts’s dancers and singers on stage, she said, “Every face generated a spirit of hope.”
“The music was beautiful, the stage, the choreography part was amazing. Everyone seems just, just on cue. The costumes were exquisite,” said the retired speech pathologist and audiologist.
As Ms. Littlejohn watched Shen Yun, she was thinking of all the people she would recommend the classical Chinese dance and music company to.
Through 20 short dances, songs, and instrumental pieces, New York-based Shen Yun brings 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture to life. And it does so with the intention of bringing the underlying cherished values of the culture to life as well—values that embrace a reverence for the divine.
“I like the underlying principle of integrity, and good values, and getting back to the basics. I like that very much,” said Ms. Littlejohn at the Pikes Peak Center on April 5.
By “basics,” Ms. Littlejohn was speaking of morals. As a Christian, she liked that the performance emphatically opposed atheism for she feels we’re moving away from our moral compass.
At the heart of every Shen Yun piece---dances that show snapshots of different dynasties, myths and legends and folklore---is a dedication to truthfulness, kindness, justice, and goodness.
“I love the singing; the operatic voices were majestic---just a touch of heaven,” she said.
Translated lyrics for songs by the Chinese vocalists speak philosophically of man’s reason for living: “Don’t succumb to the lies or pressure / You are on this earth for this chance at salvation.”
“I like the truth is being revealed on the screen in such poetic and majestic way. I like that,” Ms. Littlejohn said.
She also liked that the performance directly presents a divine Creator. In fact, the very opening of the performance, the dance “Salvation and Renewal,” shows the Creator coming to earth and calling divine beings to join Him.
The overall performance left Ms. Littlejohn with a feeling of hope. As a person who believes in a Creator, she feels we each have a responsibility to promote goodness, with “the ultimate result being joy.” But she acknowledges that battles must be fought along the way.
Some of Shen Yun’s dances tell stories of China today, when the communist regime has persecuted people of faith.
Ms. Littlejohn felt Shen Yun’s choice to present these stories is wonderful. She was grateful to see what is going on in China, even if it showed “the ultimate depravity of mankind” and how a one party system is not for the benefit of all.
She reiterated that her friends need to see it: “It was beautifully done.”
Reporting by Lily Yu and Sharon Kilarski
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.
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.
