DENVER, Colo.—Brent and Dannielle Norwood enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Buell Theatre in Denver on March 30. Mr. Norwood, a builder, went to accompany his wife. “She loves this,” Mr. Norwood said, “and that’s why I’m here.”
Mrs. Norwood, who once studied theater costume design, found the colors in Shen Yun especially interesting.
“I just love the way they put the colors together; like the spring colors, like the fuchsias with the orange and the blue,” she said.
Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
Mrs. Norwood said she particularly enjoyed the dance story about a young student and a fish. “I read that as a kid—I love fairy tales and folk tales and tales from other lands. I have lots of books—and so I love that.”Shen Yun also gives a glimpse of modern-day China, with kind people still holding onto faith and traditional values like truth, compassion, and forbearance—even though one can face persecution for such a thing in China today.
The piece showing a group being persecuted for their faith was very moving for Mrs. Nowood. “[Falun Gong practitioners] were being persecuted for their faith. I thought that was very powerful, and it made me get choked up.“It’s not fair that they can’t believe what they want to believe in their hearts, and they’re not allowed to openly express it. That’s very sad to me. That was very emotional,” she said.
Mrs. Norwood was impressed by original song texts that were sung using the bel canto technique. As the website explains, these songs are “Brimming with deep reflection about life, these songs transcend the boundaries of nation, race, and culture, resonating with audiences the world over and inspiring hope in people’s hearts.”
Mr. Norwood thought the last dance piece was really powerful. “The communists were coming in to destroy,” he said. ”[One of the communists] made a choice. He changed his mind—very powerful.”
The Dances Tell a Story
Shen Yun also enchanted Brian and Sharon Leffler at Denver’s Buell Theatre. Mr. Leffler, a retail manager, said, “It’s wonderful. The costumes are bright and colorful, which is definitely entertaining, and the dancers are top-notch.”Mrs. Leffler, a Filipino, said, “I love the ladies’ costumes, and then how graceful they are, the way they dance.”
Mr. Leffler was impressed that Shen Yun is reviving traditional culture. “The dances actually do have movement and tell a story,” he said.
“The different uses of the wind instruments is exciting to me. And again, I love this view because I get to watch the [musicians] working with the violins and some of the other instruments. But again, it’s not overpowering. It’s not like the music is hitting you over the head with the bass. It’s definitely more clean, which is great,” he said.
Mr. Leffler said he could appreciate what’s so special about traditional Chinese culture.
Mr. Leffler enjoyed a lighter touch in the performance. “For me, it’s going back to tradition, and there is a little bit of humor, which is definitely fun to watch.”
The persecution began in 1999 and is still ongoing. Oftentimes, audience members will say that Shen Yun is the first they’ve heard about this human rights crisis and appreciate the awareness the arts company has raised around the world.
“I still get that there’s still some abuse going on,” he said. “Which is definitely sad.”
