PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Shen Yun Performing Arts was a beautiful, enjoyable, and enlightening experience for audience members at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Bonnie Zarborski, and sister, Annmarie Zarborski, both thought the Chinese classical dance performance was beautiful.
“The performance was outstanding,” said Bonnie Zarborski.
“Talented, very talented performers,” Annmarie Zarborski, added.
The New York-based Shen Yun’s mission is to revive China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture, which has been nearly destroyed under 60 years of communist rule.
A history teacher, Annmarie Zarborski said she saw “beauty,” “expression,” and “enthusiasm for nature,” in the performance, which features dance, vocalists, a unique East-West orchestra, and a state-of-the-art digital backdrop displaying digitally-animated settings that transport audiences into ancient worlds.
Shen Yun dances involve Classical Chinese dance that draw upon Chinese stories and legends, as well as ethnic and folk dances involving a varied assortment of traditional dance styles.
Steve Surowinski, an engineer for a global company, said Shen Yun’s performance was “well synchronized,” and he was “amazed by the voices of the soloists.”
Shen Yun’s soloists sing original compositions with bel canto technique. The lyrics are “brimming with philosophical reflection about human life and containing deep layers of meaning,” according to the Shen Yun website.
“It was a great experience,” said Mr. Surowinski, adding that he had not seen anything like Shen Yun despite traveling a lot in Asia.
Mr. Surowinski said seeing Shen Yun made him aware that the spiritual practice of Falun Gong is not allowed in mainland China. Also known as Falun Dafa, Falun Gong is based on a teaching of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
In the dance, The Steadfast Lotus, a mother and daughter’s “perfect moment is shattered when Communist Party police arrive to take the mother away,” according to the Shen Yun program book.
It is a plot that “mirrors countless present-day stories of Chinese families torn apart.” Falun Gong has been persecuted in China since 1999.
“All of the dances mean something so we learned a lot from those performances,” said Mr. Surowinski.
Reporting by Tim Pi, Huiwen Ji, and Ananda West
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.
