SEATTLE—Rebecca Leland, a product marketing manager, and Corey Fisher, a travel nurse, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at Seattle’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall on April 6.
“This has been the most incredible performance I have ever seen,“ Mr. Fisher said. ”It brought me to tears within the first five minutes of the performance. It was so beautiful, between the acrobatics, the music, the orchestra—the mixture of Eastern and Western music. I never found something more beautiful than this show.”
“It was just so fun to see the heart come through with all the dancers and the beautiful costumes,“ Ms. Leland said. ”It just stirs your own soul as someone watching. It was so meaningful.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has been the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company since its inception in 2006. Its performers come from all around the world, united in their mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, and the beauty and goodness of “China before communism.”
“I was so deeply stirred by the performance,“ Ms. Leland said. ”I felt the beauty, the combination of the expression by the dancers, the hearts that just showed through so strongly, and just the beautiful culture.”
Ms. Leland added that through the beauty of Shen Yun’s performance, she found a new appreciation for traditional Chinese culture.
“I learned so much, and it just reminded me of the deep beauty in the human heart in every part of culture around the world,” she said. “I just have a renewed awe and deep appreciation for the beautiful Chinese culture. I’m just so excited to keep coming to Shen Yun and just listening to more of the beautiful music ... It was really inspiring.”
According to Shen Yun’s website, China was once known as “the land of the divine,” and its people believed that their culture was a gift from the heavens. Traditional Chinese culture is founded on the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and Shen Yun incorporates these spiritual roots of Chinese culture in its performances.
“I loved how they incorporated both the human body and the spiritual aspect of it,“ Mr. Fisher said. ”It reminded me of my own spirituality, my own culture, a combination of both the mundane, the human, and the higher—the spiritual.”
“I really, deeply appreciated the spiritual integration in the show because I think it just shows how every human being has that deeply imprinted in their heart,“ Ms. Leland added. ”That’s how we were made. That’s such a deep, rich part of culture that is so important to express. And to unite people together to realize: Yes, that is how I’m made; I’m made to lean into that and grow closer to God in that.”
Mr. Fisher and Ms. Leland expressed their gratitude to the performers.
“I’m so happy for them,“ Ms. Leland said. ”They have taken this chance, and they have gone through all of the training. I’m sure there’s sacrifice in it, too. The courage to take this opportunity and live out their values and just express their faith and what’s most important to them; I’m just so happy for them. I want to thank them for this opportunity.”
Mr. Fisher said that he “1,000 percent, ten out of ten would recommend” Shen Yun to his friends. “I want to provide an opportunity for my nieces and nephews to come and see this performance and be inspired.”
Ms. Leland said that if she were to describe Shen Yun to her friends and family, she would say that “there’s something for everyone ... Your soul is going to be awakened and ignited in a lot of different ways.”
“I would say that the most beautiful music meets the most beautiful dance meets the most beautiful spirituality,“ Mr. Fisher added. ”You can see the heart of God amongst all of it.”
Reporting by Frank Zhang and Wandi Zhu.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
