Missionary Says Shen Yun Presents ‘Truth From the Word of God’
Jan 13, 2024
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Shen Yun Performing Arts North America Company's curtain call at the Chrysler Hall, in Norfolk, on Jan. 13, 2024. (NTD)
NORFOLK, Va.—Dwayne King, a missionary pilot from Alaska who spends his winters in Pennsylvania, enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife at the Chrysler Hall on Jan. 13.
Seeing how excited his wife was about Shen Yun, Mr. King bought tickets for her birthday. After the performance, he said was also left “excited about it.”
“It’s perfect … perfection of choreography and perfection of bodily strength and togetherness,” he said, “It was fantastic!”
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance company. Featuring a live orchestra that blends Eastern and Western instrumentation and authentic classical Chinese dance that has been passed down from antiquity, Shen Yun presents story-based dances that span 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
According to the company’s website, Shen Yun presents the culture of “China before communism.”
Delighted by the spiritual undertones throughout the dance stories, Mr. King said he found the traditions and values of Shen Yun to be the most intriguing part of the performance.
Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances portraying the persecution of Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution campaign against the spiritual practice, which is also called Falun Gong, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.
Mr. King said he was delighted to see the representation of “morality and truth” as well as “the right way over the communist” from the spiritual prisoners. The principles demonstrated by the Falun Dafa meditators represented to him “truth from the word of God.”
“I saw strength in those who stand even under persecution, those who have these true values that are godly—it will win over in the end,” he said, “I have great hopes for China because there are people there who understand the true word of God.”
“We are all [here] for these people that represent the old Chinese culture and belief,” he added.
‘A Sense of Hope’
Intended as a Christmas gift for her parents, psychologist Reva O’Hallarn said Shen Yun has become a “gift for all of us.”
Reva O’Hallarn at the Shen Yun performance at Chrysler Hall on Jan. 13, 2024. (Amy Hu/The Epoch Times)
From the colors of the couture costumes to the grace and athleticism of the dancers, “its gorgeous and … great fun to watch,” she said.
Ms. O’Hallarn said one of the dance stories depicted the persecution of Falun Dafa adherents, and it touched her and made her cry.
“To know that that is happening in China and continues to happen today makes me very sad,” she said. “It’s a humanitarian crisis.”
With the themes of righteousness triumphing over malevolence, she said Shen Yun “shows a sense of hope” and “was beautifully portrayed.”
“I highly recommend [Shen Yun], and hope that my friends come to see this as well!”
Reporting by Jenny Jing, Amy Hu, and Jennifer Schneider
