SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Shows the Importance of Finding Yourself and Your Spiritual Existence, Says Company President

May 04, 2024
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Shen Yun Shows the Importance of Finding Yourself and Your Spiritual Existence, Says Company President
Ken Keacher and Jill Randall enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Orpheum Theatre on May 3, 2024. (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times)

MINNEAPOLIS—On May 3, company president Ken Keacher and his girlfriend Jill Randall, a researcher at the University of Michigan, attended Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Orpheum Theatre.

“I think it’s great. It’s delightful to see all the colors. It’s nice seeing all the movement that’s at a high level,” Mr. Keacher praised.

“This is nice in that not only are we getting a lot of Chinese culture but Chinese history. It’s all convenient, approachable, and affordable.”

As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, China’s 5,000 years of history is filled with breathtaking legends and rich traditions. Yet, within just a few decades of the Chinese communists’ rise to power, this magnificent culture was destroyed.

The spread of atheism quickly eradicated Chinese people’s belief in the divine. The cherished virtues and values learned from the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism disappeared overnight.

Today, the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is working to revive this lost civilization and bring it back to the world through dance and music, the beauty of pre-communist China.

Mr. Keacher is very grateful for the experience.

“As an observer seeing and experiencing things from our past in the present time—we live in a very fortunate time and have a lot of things accessible to us. To be able to stop and take a look at art that is moving is so interesting.”

Ms. Randall, too, loved the performance.

“I think the visuals are beautiful—the movement, the color, and the story. [Shen Yun] really has it all, and it’s very delightful and pleasing and kept my attention the entire time,” she said.

She was surprised and happy to see “all the energy coming from [the artists’] faces.” They were very expressive and quickly drew her into the stories.

“My takeaway point is that the performers are trying to convey something that has been lost from their culture and making sure that it is represented in [places] where we otherwise would not have the opportunity to experience it,” she added.

However, for this very reason and the artists’ determination to raise awareness about ongoing human rights violations in present-day China, Shen Yun is currently banned by the communist regime from visiting the country.
Mr. Keacher was also impressed by Shen Yun’s portrayal of spirituality and China’s divine-inspired culture.

“I think it’s very good. [We’re] crossing the line and going back in time to one of the oldest civilizations it’s ever been,” he expressed.

“The spirituality they had brought them to be a peaceful people in many ways with a higher ideal. They’ve got to spiritual levels and ideas of who we are, why we’re here, what we should do, and where we’re going.”

The message he will bring home from the show is the importance of finding unity in the world, “finding yourself, [doing] meditation, and getting back to our spiritual existence.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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