SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Sculptor Larry Rankin took in the sights and sounds of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Granada Theater the afternoon of March 30.
“What you have is a wonderful, wonderful display of culture that presents what China is all about, and the history, too,” said Mr. Rankin of the performance.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive China’s 5,000 years of culture, bringing its stories and legends to the stage using music and Chinese dance. After decades of communist rule in China, traditional culture has been suppressed and nearly destroyed.
“What I’m really enjoying about it is that it is giving you a very good idea of the culture and what really goes on,” said Mr. Rankin.
Mr. Rankin is the CEO of L. Rankin Enterprises, the company through which he carries out his sculptures. His works have been featured in galleries across the country, and won the Best in Show for sculpture award at the ArtExpo Las Vegas in 2007.
Mr. Rankin was happy that Shen Yun is showing people the good side of Chinese culture, because of negative attitudes owing to the current situation with the communist regime and various human rights problems.
The dance also impressed Mr. Rankin, who was especially moved by how well all the dancers worked together.
“I find that the dance is very beautiful, very colorful, and I’m really impressed with what they do as far as being very coordinated,” he said.
“The dancers are exquisite. There’s no question. I love it. I’m having a really wonderful time,” he said.
Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance, which the Shen Yun website explains: “classical Chinese dance has helped preserve 5,000 years of Chinese culture. Built on traditional aesthetics, it was once passed down among the people, in imperial courts, and through ancient plays. Over thousands of years, it was constantly refined, eventually developing into the vast and distinctly Chinese dance form we know today.”
In addition to the dance, the costumes caught Mr. Rankin’s eye. “They’re very beautiful and very colorful,” he said.
But while each element is important, the total effect seemed to be what really touched Mr. Rankin.
“There’s a tremendous amount of beauty in this. The beauty of the costumes, the beauty of the performance,” he said. “The beauty of how they all work together.”
Reporting by Albert Roman and Ben Bendig
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006
