ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Attendees at Shen Yun’s afternoon performance at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg described being moved by what they experienced on Feb. 8.
Shen Yun Performing Arts hails from New York and tours the world each year with a series of short dance pieces. They take audiences on a journey through China’s diverse dynasties and across its vast regions. Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun tells stories from ancient times to the present.
The use of a patented special effect with a digital backdrop saw dancers seemingly fly from the stage into the heavens, which Dr. Rutherford said was “really, really cool.”
The dancers themselves were well-coordinated and demonstrated values we need today: “Hard work and discipline.”
“I even had tears a few times. It was very beautiful,” Dr. Rutherford said.
He found another story very powerful. Set in modern China, it depicts a young man who, under communist rule, is tortured for his faith.
In the story, the man is healed due to divine intervention—an event that reverberates with the traditional understanding of the connection between heaven and earth.
Dr. Rutherford said this piece is relevant today. “I think having some faith in the divine and staying focused on a set of principles that are inspired and divine, I think, helps everybody live a little bit better,” he said.
He found the performance inspiring and thanked the performers for “all that they do.”
A Moving Message
Also in the audience were the Ramirez family, Alexander and Saida Ramirez, and their son. They, too, were moved by Shen Yun.
The family was sitting so close to the stage that he felt “part of the show.”
The dance highlights the relationship between mother and son. For that reason, Mrs. Ramirez connected to the piece. The piece made her think about the world at large.
“I just think about the persecution, how they were mistreated … how they didn’t have rights. They have to do what the government says or what others say, and they are fighting to be themselves—to be free. And I think so many people are trying to be free ... They want freedom,” she said.
While Dr. Rutherford will hold on to his memory of performance, Mr. Ramirez Jr. feels compelled to learn more.
“I don’t know enough right now, but I think it’s definitely going to make me go home and think and do some research on what’s actually going on in the culture. If that’s something that’s happening today, I want to know more about it now,” he said.
