NEWARK, N.J.—Company first vice president Bob Traigz was attracted to a purchase ticket for Shen Yun Performing Arts’ third show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center after seeing the commercials on TV. It turned out to be a wonderful evening.
“The acrobatics are amazing. I wish I had that kind of talent when I was young. The artistry, the colors, the talent—everything is just so wonderful,” he exclaimed after the performance.
The energy of the production was “fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. Very enjoyable.”
However, after the communist takeover and the spread of atheism, all this traditional culture was systematically destroyed. Founded in 2006 by elite Chinese artists who fled persecution, the New York-based Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving the beauty and virtues of pre-communist China.
Mr. Traigz lamented the loss of this divine-inspired culture and wished that present-day China were still as Shen Yun portrayed.
“It’s unfortunate what happened to China, you know? This is so beautiful,” he said. “I would love to see [the artists] revive it all. It'd be wonderful.”
“Communism squashed all of the ancient traditions, and the culture and the history of ancient China. It’s a shame because all of that should be renewed. It should be made known and it should be celebrated.”
Though Shen Yun is well-beloved by audiences around the world, it is currently forbidden by the ruling Chinese regime from performing in China.
For Mr. Traigz, Shen Yun’s message “conveys the faith and the divinity and the true belief in the spiritual and God.”
“I think that everything in the world—all the races, all of the nationalities, all of the countries, all believe in one God. I believe that this [performance] displays that. One deity, one creator of the universe,” he shared.
