LONG BEACH, Calif.—Jim Heiting, along with his family members, watched Shen Yun for the first time on Feb. 7 at the Terrace Theater of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. “I learned about Shen Yun on television advertisements,” Mr. Heiting said. “I loved it. The cultural difference was pretty amazing, and I learned a lot.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Celebrating 20 years of artistic excellence, Shen Yun carries the mission of reviving traditional Chinese culture, which has been almost destroyed by the Chinese regime.
Mr. Heiting is a lawyer and the managing partner of a law firm. He felt the connection and the spirituality, and he said, “I felt a connection to people, and I like the spiritual aspect of the show. And the idea of positive thought was very good.”
Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun brings ancient legends, historical figures, and modern stories to life on stage, taking audience members on a journey of 5,000 years.
“I enjoyed the acrobatics [of classical Chinese dance] the most. And I enjoyed the flexibility of the ladies who were dancing, beautiful. Very beautiful,“ he said, recalling his favorite piece being ”the peacocks dance,“ adding, ”I was impressed by it. I felt part of it. It was beautiful, very beautiful.”
While watching Shen Yun, Mr. Heiting felt that “there’s a connection between people, there’s a relationship between people, there’s a spirituality that pervades our life and is aspirational that we should all move toward that direction.”
He specifically liked the “positive message.”
“The positive message was very good, the spirituality, the connection to higher codes and thoughts are all very good,” he said.
“They were absolutely great. A lot of hard work. It looked like a lot of very hard work, so I appreciated it very much,” he said.
Reporting by Alice Sun and Sophia Fang.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
