SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘I Highly Recommend Everyone to Come See Shen Yun,’ Says California Theatergoer

Apr 03, 2024
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‘I Highly Recommend Everyone to Come See Shen Yun,’ Says California Theatergoer
Dr. Robert Hickey and Dr. Linda Malkas enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Thousands Oaks Civic Arts Plaza on April 2, 2024. (Alice Sun/The Epoch Times)

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.—On April 2, cancer researcher Linda Malkas, Ph.D., attended Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza with her husband, Robert Hickey, Ph.D.

The couple decided to purchase tickets after hearing great things about the performance.

“It was very beautiful. Very, very beautiful. I very much enjoyed the dancing and learning about the culture. The singing was lovely. I was amazed,” Dr. Malkas exclaimed.

“Somebody told me I should come see it, and I’m very glad I did.”

Met with wide acclaim since its founding in 2006, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has grown to include eight equally sized companies that tour simultaneously.

Its artists are highly trained in classical Chinese dance. Dating back thousands of years, it is one of the most athletic and expressive art forms in the world.

“The dancers were just exceptional. They’re very inspiring. I want to learn some of that, though I think I’m a little old for that now,” Dr. Malkas added.

The couple had no idea what to expect stepping into the theater and so felt “very, very surprised by just how lovely” the show was.

“I [enjoyed] all of it, actually. I highly recommend everyone to come see it,” Dr. Malkas said.

She thought Shen Yun’s mission to revive traditional Chinese culture was “very beautiful.”
“I love the stories and learning about the history of the dancing. Even the instrument with the two strings was really fascinating. It was really a very powerful, beautiful, and new insight into traditional Chinese culture.”
For 5,000 years, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism formed the basis of Chinese life. The ancient people believed that by adhering to traditional moral standards, they would be blessed by the divine.

However, after the communist takeover and its spread of atheism, this belief was systematically erased.  Shen Yun artists are now dedicated to reviving and sharing this lost beauty with the world.

Dr. Malkas had gone to China about 10 years ago and said Shen Yun offered “a very different perspective.”

A devout Christian, she thought her faith “overlapped very beautifully with some of the themes [the show] discussed.”

“I love the idea of cleaning up our thinking,” she said.

Reporting by Alice Sun and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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