They attended the company’s matinee on March 7 at the Center for the Performing Arts at Governor State University.
“I thought it was a beautiful show,” Mr. Bogner said. “The costumes were magnificent, the stories were enchanting, and the dancing was exquisite.”
The couple had grown up around the time of the communist takeover in China. So, aside from hearing a bit about Confucius and Confucianism, all Mr. Bogner knew about China was that it is atheist.
The New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of the communist party.
For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.
Mrs. Bogner, too, was moved by the divinity displayed in the show.
“I was so impressed with the morality of the event and the goals that spiritual people have in China for higher learning, higher peace, higher condition, and higher power.”
“I liked the end of [the show.] It was beautiful,” she stated, referring to the final dance piece where the divine Creator came down to save humanity from calamity.
A very spiritual person herself, Mrs. Bogner said she identifies with the artists’ message and found a lot of commonalities between the East and the West.
“I call it Christianity and, in China, it’s called something else. Yet, I’m seeing the same end result and [the importance of] standing up against forces that are taking away our wisdom, our decency, and our ability to get along with each other,” she expressed.
Mrs. Bogner was also amazed by Shen Yun performers’ ability to “express feelings through their movements.”
After seeing the show, “I feel more unified with the Chinese people. I don’t care what the politics are all about—I feel more unified with the Chinese people through this experience.”
