ESCONDIDO, Calif.—Catherine Brown, business owner, felt the only thing disappointing about attending Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time was that she had not brought more people with her to share in the experience.
“I enjoyed it very, very much ... It’s ‘wow.’ that’s all I could say, is there’s so many things to say,” said Ms. Brown, a business owner, after seeing Shen Yun at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on March 14.
“There is one in San Diego, and I know it’s only like next week, but I think I’m going to go again. That’s [how] much I liked it,” she said.
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company.
Through music and dance, Shen Yun aims to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, sharing with audiences the beauty of China before communism.
Everything about the performance “from the beginning to the end” had been amazing and unique, she said.
Ms. Brown said she had read up on Shen Yun, discovering that the artists cannot perform in China, where they face religious persecution for following their faith, Falun Gong. Also known as Falun Dafa, the spiritual discipline teaches the three principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, but has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
The performance instilled in her a peace and calm, Ms. Brown said, and had deep meaning.
“They were speaking of the heavens and joy and unity, things like that,“ Ms. Brown said. ”It’s not just dance, it’s not just the play ... it has meaning.”
“I watch everybody come out; I met people too ... and they just feel you could just look in their eyes, in their face and their facial expressions. You could see they’re at peace,” she said. “It’s so calming. It really is. But the message is important too.”
“Ten out of 10—they were amazing,” Ms. Brown said. “Loved it all.”
