The Winspear Opera House, AT&T Performing Arts Center, in Dallas, May, 2022. (The Epoch Times)
DALLAS, Texas—The Rickey family—Rawland, who works for the Department of Veterans Affairs, his wife together with their son Garrett and his wife, Missy—attended a performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Dallas on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
New York-based Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company that brings 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture to the stage.
Mr. Rickey said the performance was spectacular because “it brings a touch of humanity and opens up a different perspective.”
The Rickey family Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Winspear Opera House, AT&T Performing Arts Center, in Dallas, on May 28, 2022. (Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times)
Son Garrett agreed with his father. He found the humor in the story of the Monkey King. “From the stories with the Monkey King and the Golden Palace in the heavens, to when he got plucked by Buddha, that was funny.”
He liked the dances with a modern message and dances from various regions of China. “The ethnic dance is insightful [about] the peoples of China and the ethnic regions held there and just very insightful. Absolutely gorgeous.”
Mr. Rickey has been to China and was thankful for the opportunity to see the show since it can’t be seen in China. He said the orchestra “is phenomenal. The music just lifts the soul.”
Garrett’s wife Missy expressed her love for Asian culture. “I spent some years in the Orient: in Japan, the Philippines, and Korea.” She noticed that every country has its own culture and dances, and a performance like this is a way to know the culture. It’s like getting familiar with this country.”
Mr. Rickey took a wide view. “From a world perspective, it just the fact that we need to have a more open heart, more compassion for everybody and not be so quick to judge based on skin color.”
He summed it up with his pleasure at attending. “I can’t even begin to say how much I’ve enjoyed being here and being part of this. This show is incredible and is very spectacular.”
Shen Yun Performers Put Their Heart and Soul Into the Dance
Alfredo and Melissa Rodriguez attended the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Winspear Opera House, AT&T Performing Arts Center, in Dallas on May 28, 2022. (Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times)
Alfredo and Melissa Rodriguez were amazed at the skill of the dancers, and the production as a whole. “They’re beautiful. Their movements are fluid and gorgeous. The costumes and the production quality is top-notch,” Alfredo said. Alfredo is an IT engineering manager.
Melissa said the dancers put their heart into the performance. “They seem like they take it very seriously too, like, it’s more than just a job for them. They love it. And they really enjoy performing.”
Alfredo said, “The heart and soul of what the performers are putting into their performance. It’s not just the practice, but it’s also something that appears to come from the heart, and that comes through in the performance.”
Educator Wants to Find Out More About the Stories Presented in Shen Yun
Michael and Christy Street attended the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Winspear Opera House, AT&T Performing Arts Center, in Dallas on May 28, 2022. (Sonia Wu/The Epoch Times)
Michael and Christy Street were looking for things to do when things opened up after the lockdown. Michael, director of operations for an energy company, wanted to attend, and thought this would be “new and different,” according to Christy, a teacher.
Christy noted that Shen Yun cannot be performed in China because it’s repressed by the Chinese communist party, and now she wants to find out more: “Now I want to read more about the history after seeing the beauty of the story.
“I think that this is something that I will want to pursue. I’m not that familiar with the culture of the dances. The dance is beautiful, but I want to go back now and get the background of the story,” she said.
Reporting by Sally Sun, Sonia Wu, and Yvonne Marcotte.
