MIAMI—Filmmaker Christian Valderrama attended Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time on March 14 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. This marks the company’s third show at the venue.
He thoroughly enjoyed the evening and felt the performance was very thought-provoking.
“I do feel that the show is inspiring. It has a lot of rich history about China,” he shared. “What I would have to say, personally, is that I think it’s giving me a little bit of motivation.”
As one of the world’s oldest civilizations, China’s 5,000 years of history is rich with breathtaking legends and time-honored traditions. Yet within just a few decades of the Chinese communists’ rise to power, much of this magnificent culture was destroyed.
The spread of atheism rapidly undermined belief in the divine, and the cherished virtues drawn from Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were swept away.
Shen Yun artists are “inspiring, and I would have to say, hardworking as well,” he expressed.
“I can see the amount of work and the amount of thought that these people put into [the performance] and I’m just amazed that it’s that’s actually gone around for so long and that people are becoming inspired, like myself, and a lot of people came in to see the show. I believe that most people are enjoying it—same as I am.”
Shen Yun artists are masters of classical Chinese dance, an ancient and highly expressive art form dating back thousands of years. Unlike the modern, military-influenced styles often seen in China today, Shen Yun preserves and performs this tradition in its most authentic form, as it was originally passed down through generations.
As he watched the performance, Mr. Valderrama said the strongest feeling he experienced was “a lot of happiness.”
He appreciated that, in addition to bringing classical Chinese legends to life, the company also shared the spiritual tradition and moral values of ancient China with the audience.
He is now looking forward to incorporating some of what he saw in Shen Yun into his own work.
“I would gradually like to input more of the history of China into some films that I would love to make—especially for some stuff that I would like to write in the future,” he said. Shen Yun brings a little bit of inspiration for research.
