BALTIMORE—David Blohm, a web director, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at The Hippodrome Theatre on Feb. 11.
“It’s been amazing,” Mr. Blohm said. “The cast has been performing really well. I love the outfits, [the] great atmosphere … It’s been a lot of fun.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and present the beauty of China before communism. Some of the story-based dances depict the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of followers of faith, and Mr. Blohm said that the performance gave him a deeper understanding of what is happening in today’s China.
“It … opened your eyes to the kind of persecution that’s happening,” he said.
“It helps you recognize the beauty of the world that you don’t realize that you’re missing,” he said. “With work, you’re sitting there all day, you’re kind of stuck behind a computer, and you see the same thing day after day. But there’s just the amazing things that humans can do, but also just the amazing things that are out there in the world.”
‘Absolutely, Unbelievably Incredible’
“Absolutely, unbelievably incredible,” said Mr. Edwards, who works as an investor. “The athleticism of the dancers is superb. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Mrs. Edwards said that she appreciated the traditional values Shen Yun’s performance encouraged, while Mr. Edwards shared that he felt it a shame that Shen Yun cannot be seen in China.
“It is a shame that the government of China does not allow this,” he said. “That cheats the Chinese people that are in China, because they should be able to enjoy this just like we do.”
“I never knew anything about China before communism, so this was kind of enlightening,” he said. “[I] learned that there was a whole … culture that existed before communism that has been forgotten about.”
“I don’t know a whole lot about Chinese culture, but in two hours, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about it through their stories and … through their values,” Mr. Edwards said. “As an American, I think it makes a connection between us and the Chinese people … so I think this links the two cultures in a unique way, a very beautiful way.”
