KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to KCMO with an entirely new production and performed to a sold out theater on April 1. Mr. Jerry Carpenter and Ms. Lynn Rooney were at Muriel Kauffman Theatre for the opening night, and they thoroughly enjoyed the performance.
“I thought it was excellent. The colors were so vibrant, it just overwhelms you,” said Mr. Carpenter, a retired businessman in the mental health field. “Man, it was just phenomenal.”
Shen Yun is a New York-based classical Chinese dance company that has, over the past decade, set out to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the universal language of dance and music—and audiences across the globe are endlessly wowed at the artistry that unfolds on stage.
“The dancers were perfect and you can tell that they had worked very, very hard, [for] many, many hours to get that perfection,” said Ms. Rooney.
“The dancers were beautiful and talented,” added Mr. Carpenter. “The costumes were wonderful, and it was just a great performance.”
Each year, Shen Yun’s costume artists create hundreds of brightly colored clothing pieces, the result of researching designs of traditional garments worn by members of the royal court, the common people, and various ethnic groups, according to the Shen Yun website. “Every detail is given meticulous attention and is a result of artistic inspiration and careful polishing,” the website reads.
Watching Shen Yun brought back many fond memories for Mr. Carpenter. “I am Korean by birth, so it got me home, you know all the colors, the classical dancing, and going out to the different [regions making up China] and seeing it,” he said. The “yangge” folk dance performed in a a celebration of a bountiful harvest brought back such memories.
Ms. Rooney, a retired social worker in the mental health field, found the performance to be moving. “It made me happy, it made me sad, in some of the aspects of what China is going through now,” she said.
Mr. Carpenter’s message to the Shen Yun performers is to continue their mission to revive China’s ancient culture. “When you think about what happened during the [Cultural] Revolution, when Mao Zedong basically did away with the culture, and now we’re revitalizing it and bringing it back, I think there is only positive things to be gained by that,” he said.
They both would encourage their friends and family to watch Shen Yun.
“I saw the advertisement last year, and I didn’t get to make it, so I promised myself I would make it this year,” Mr. Carpenter said.
“And, it was well worth it, well worth it.”
He was already planning to make the trip back to Kansas City because he cannot wait to see what takes place in next season’s performance.
Reporting by Cat Rooney and Larry Ong
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.
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.
