CHARLOTTE, N.C.—“It was incredible and beautiful,” said Michael Ribas at Charlotte’s Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Jan 29. “The storytelling through movement, and dance, and color, the choreography—everything is amazing.”
When the curtain draws open on Shen Yun Performing Arts, audiences are in for something special. Through stunning music, costumes, and dance, true Chinese traditional culture springs to life each time Shen Yun graces the stage, as Shen Yun’s website makes clear.
Mr. Ribas, who works in media relations, said he also attended the performance last year. For this year, he was especially touched by the effortless grace of Shen Yun’s dancers.
“It’s almost beyond words,” Mr. Ribas added.
“Chinese dance is at the heart of what Shen Yun does. Known for its incredible flips and spins, and its gentle elegance, it is one of the most rigorous and expressive art forms in the world,” reads Shen Yun’s website.
Although New York-based Shen Yun travels the globe delivering insights about China’s divinely inspired culture to millions, such a performance cannot be seen in China today, where traditional values have been nearly destroyed at the hands of the communist party.
“I think it’s incredible,” Mr. Ribas said. “It’s not even allowed within China .... It’s just amazing. I’ve always admired the Chinese culture and their traditions and their belief systems.”
While Shen Yun’s beauty can penetrate at first glance, it’s able to strike even deeper. It was the inner meanings contained in the performance that affected Mr. Ribas most deeply.
“I think it’s a lot richer and closer to the larger truth of what is,” he said.
“You could go on for days about every little thing, and it’s just amazing visually, aurally, emotionally,” he added. “It encompasses so much, really, with just music. There’s no word. It’s just movement and gestures.”
With reporting by Maggie Xie and Michael Fitzgerald
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.
The 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.
