MIAMI—Minerva Borjas, a vocal producer, and George Fernandez, who works in finance, watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 25.
“It’s a lovely portrait of beauty and how spirituality can be enhanced by it,” said Ms. Borjas, who had watched Shen Yun before. “It touches the heart of an audience just because we all understand beauty and fairness, so I think it’s very important to see the show.”
“I think we understand the spiritual message behind Shen Yun in terms of [a] universal truth that unites us all, regardless of religion or age or political situations,” she said. “I think we must defend that. We must defend the freedom of speech and the freedom to create from our heart, from our spiritual center.”
Many of Shen Yun’s founders and performers had to flee from the Chinese regime’s oppressive rule. Ms. Borjas shared that as a Venezuelan who grew up in a communist country, she understood the importance of freedom of speech and artistic creation.
“I feel as an artist that the moment we want to create something from the traditional teachings, it must be defended,” she said.
Ms. Borjas also said that she was touched by the beauty of Shen Yun’s performance and that she felt that the beauty spoke to everyone in the audience.
“It’s … spiritual and a higher truth that we can all relate to,” said Ms. Borjas. “I got the chills. I felt like God exists through this beautiful art.”
“I love live orchestras and high-end artistry,” she said. “This is on top of any artistry session that I’ve seen before. This is one of the most beautiful music pieces that … I’ve heard. So, congratulations to the team because it’s very inspiring.”
Besides dance pieces, Shen Yun’s program also includes songs performed in the traditional bel canto style. Ms. Borjas said she felt that the singer was “incredibly powerful and very passionate and true” and that it was “a delight to hear him.”
The lyrics spoke of the coming of the Creator and the salvation of humankind. Ms. Borjas shared that she believed in the truth of the lyrics.
“I believe there’s been higher beings among us that bring messages of unity, messages of truth. He spoke about the mission that we all have, all the beings have. He spoke about beings from the higher realms of the heavens being here to guide us. I truly believe that … It is important to talk about that because it sounds like a movie or something from imagination, [but] it’s actually true.”
Mr. Fernandez also shared what touched him most in Shen Yun’s performance.
“It’s in the simplicity of the movements, of the dancers,” he said. “I believe they are pursuing freedom … they’re in pursuit of spirituality. I think there’s a powerful energy in the movements that they use and the colors that they use because color and movement is freedom, and it is also energy.”
“Thank you for pursuing that despite the struggles,” said Mr. Fernandez. “That shows the strength that they have in doing what they’re doing.”
“I congratulate the performers for their skills,” said Ms. Borjas. “It takes a lot of time to reach what they accomplish. So, congratulations to the entire production.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
