CHICAGO—Rhea Campbell had put a link to Shen Yun Performing Arts on her Facebook page to tell people she was going to attend. Now that she’s seen the performance, she going to repost saying “You must go see it because it’s really fascinating. It’s beautiful and there is storytelling, so you are actually learning some of the history in the story through dance, which is wonderful.”
Shen Yun, bringing classical Chinese dance and music to the world, is now at the Civic Opera House where Ms. Campbell saw the performance on Friday, April 4. With two performances on Saturday it will be the last chance for Chicago to see the New York-based company this year.
Originally from Canada, Ms. Campbell is the CEO and founding partner of Bella Terra Partners, a commercial real-estate company. She attended with a group of children and adults after another mom she knows recommended she join them. Campbell said the children in the group were loving it.
Asher, Ms. Campbell’s son, picked out one dance of the many making up the evening, as particularly special, Mongolian Chopsticks. In it, chopsticks are used as percussive instruments to accentuate rhythms.
Ms. Campbell found the dances “interesting because of course the stories told through it.
”Classical Chinese dance, ethnic dances, and folk dances are the vehicles Shen Yun uses to express traditional Chinese culture. It is classical Chinese dance, however, that because of its expressiveness, is used to tell stories.
Ms. Campbell said that they had recently returned from Thailand because they were interested in other cultures, and felt it was important for her 6-year-old son to see “different cultures, different foods, different ways that people think, “ she said.
Reporting by Catherine Wen and Sharon Kilarski
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
