GLASGOW, UK—It was a lovely day for Stewart and Paula McKenna-Walker to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the SEC Armadillo theater on Feb. 7.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese civilization from “China before communism.” Today, the communist regime continues to suppress and persecute Chinese people of faith.
Mr. McKenna-Walker, an aircraft engineer, said he enjoyed everything about the performance. He was especially very moved by the Chinese dance story “The Steadfast Heart,” which dramatizes this tragedy.
“Everybody thinks of China now as being grey and sad, and a place where people aren’t happy. If you see [Shen Yun], you see how China was before communism. There was life there. There is history there. It’s something I think everybody should experience,” he said.
The couple enjoyed Shen Yun’s storytelling through dance and celebration of Chinese culture. Mr. McKenna-Walker said he liked the ladies’ “Water Sleeves” dance, in which Shen Yun’s female dancers gracefully mimic the movement of water with their costumes with long, flowing sleeves.
“I was saying at the interval to my wife that I was totally fascinated by how they pulled it in,” he said of the ladies’ sleeves.
Shen Yun features a live orchestra of both Eastern and Western instruments playing original music. “It’s really uplifting,” Mrs. McKenna-Walker said of the musical therapy.
She enjoyed the Chinese two-stringed instrument called the erhu. “It was wonderful,” she said. “The sounds that came from that, you could feel it reverberating through your body. It was magical.”
Mr. McKenna-Walker agreed. “Absolutely. I mean, the whole [performance] from start to finish, it was very captivating,” he said.
An audience favorite is Shen Yun’s patented digital backdrop that allows dancers to seemingly jump in and out of the story’s landscapes.
Mr. McKenna-Walker said the special effect was “amazing—the way that worked when they would jump in and out of it.”
The backdrop allowed for magical transformations in many of the dance stories. Mrs. McKenna-Walker said, “I want to know how he turned from an old man into a young man on the same spot. I know you won’t give any secrets away, though, but it was just, oh, it was such an experience.”
Shen Yun shares rich stories and spiritual lessons from 5,000 years of Chinese culture.
Mrs. McKenna-Walker said, “The history of China is so rich, and the company is obviously so very proud of what they do and of the roots of what they do, their history—they’re proud of their history. It’s so rich, so rich. I’m just quite elated.”
“It’s great,” Mr. McKenna-Walker said. “It’s something so special in sharing it with the world. It’s the colors, the dances, the comedy.”
The couple loved every minute of the performance. “The whole show was just wonderful,” Mrs. McKenna-Walker said.
Her husband gave his stamp of approval. “We can’t wait until next year,” he said.
