“I loved it. I’ve been wanting to see this for a number of years and it exceeded my expectations. It was beautiful. It was just lovely. It brought me to tears several times. I laughed, I cried. It was, it was really a wonderful experience,” she said.
“I loved the storytelling,” said Williams, who has appeared in 20 films and television episodes according to IMDB and who also works as a voice-over actor. “Those are probably my favorite pieces, were the ones that told the stories. I just love the way the dancers use their bodies to create this entire world that you’re in briefly. And it was, it was wonderful. They’re wonderful actors as well as wonderful dancers.”
In order to carry on ancient China’s rich traditions, Shen Yun artists weave themes of divine beings and heavenly kingdoms into their dances and songs. Since time immemorial, Chinese people have believed that the world was created by the divine, that the Creator still has a hand in everyday life, and that He will one day return to earth for all mankind.
Williams and her husband described Shen Yun’s spiritual aspect and its revival of culture with a word.
“I very much agree with my husband, I think the word ‘depth’ is what he said and there is a depth of culture that we don’t have in the West. And it’s something that we haven’t really learned that much about,” she said.
“I’m so happy for it. I love knowing that that’s going on because I think so much was lost since communism came in [to China]. By my understanding ... I don’t know all of it, but ... the arts were very limited and what they were able to perform and do. And so it’s just amazing that [Shen Yun] is bringing this back! Because it is truly beautiful and truly amazing to watch and see. So I’m really grateful.”
Shen Yun is not allowed to perform in China due to a decades-long campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to wipe out traditional Chinese culture. Along with that, the Party abducts, interrogates, and even tortures spiritual believers. Shen Yun portrays such real-life scenes now taking place in China, and the heroic ways in which kind-hearted bystanders and believers are responding to such mistreatment with compassion and faith.
“There was a lot of spirituality in [Shen Yun] that I didn’t expect and it was lovely!” Williams said. “It was really meaningful and came across really well. And it was something I wasn’t familiar with from what I knew about China, so it’s great.”
Shen Yun’s seven touring groups each travel with their own live orchestra that accompanies the dancers. Each year they stage an all-new show that keeps fans coming back again and again.
“It was amazing. Yes, they’re really good. I was very impressed! ... Yes, we'll come again!” Williams said.
