DALLAS—Joshua Rhodenbaugh, a hardware specialist, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on Jan. 22 at Eisemann Center.
“The message that I received is essentially the idea of karma, the idea of good actions beget their own reward, essentially. Those who do good in the world will see good returned unto them, and you should strive to do good and evil does not pay, it does not come out well for those who do evil,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.
Shen Yun, based in New York, is on a mission to present “China before communism” and revive people’s connection with 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and culture.
“I think that it’s very important to keep hold of traditions. Don’t get rid of traditions if you don’t understand what they were originally, and unless you have a very good reason as to why a tradition should no longer be followed,” he said.
Although Shen Yun is sharing the beauty of Chinese culture with the world, it is unable to perform in China.
“It makes me a little sad, a bit morose. This is going to sound a little counterintuitive, but I’m happy that they’re able to keep the traditions of traditional China alive even though the physical geography of where it was originally practiced no longer accepts it,” he said.
Founded in 2006, Shen Yun was established by elite artists who fled persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“I think you all were amazing, and I think that what you do takes a lot of courage and a lot of skill, and a lot of ability, and you all did an amazing job, and I hope that more people get to see all in the future,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.
The CCP’s influence has also reached outside of China. From performance cancellations and sabotage to paying Western media to slander the performance, the CCP’s fear of Shen Yun is evident.
“I don’t see the purpose of why Shen Yun is ostracized or why it was stopped. The messages, the tradition that they portray from traditional China, I don’t know why it isn’t as prevalent in today’s current culture,” he said.
With 5,000 years of history and literature to draw from, Shen Yun is able to put on an all-new production every year.
“I thought it was a beautiful performance, and they did a very good job at telling the stories,” Mr. Rhodenbaugh said.
