WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Adam Koehler, an entrepreneur, saw Shen Yun Performing Arts on Feb. 2 at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts–Dreyfoos Hall.
“I loved being able to experience the culture and understand a little bit more,” Mr. Koehler said.
Shen Yun, based in New York, is on a mission to present “China before communism,” and revive people’s connection with 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and culture.
“The dance was obviously awesome, taking me through time, through Chinese culture, through thousands of years of dance, and that art form persisting throughout this time is really interesting to me,” Mr. Koehler said.
Shen Yun’s artists are trained in classical Chinese dance, one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world.
“We don’t really get a lot of traditional Chinese dance art in that form here in the United States, so it was really interesting to see that,” Mr. Koehler commented.
Shen Yun uses dance to tell stories from China’s five millennia. Its dance stories also portray the modern-day persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. Falun Dafa is a peaceful practice that teaches the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
“I’m not a big fan of communism. It’s killed millions of people across the world, hundreds of millions of people over the course of history. Any kind of censorship of freedom of religion is something I’m completely against. I love that they’re able to share that with the people of the United States. It’s unfortunate that there’s still places on Earth that don’t allow [religious freedom,]” Mr. Koehler said.
Shen Yun’s use of its digital backdrop is patented. The versatility of the technology allows the set to change scenes in the blink of an eye, giving the stage endless possibilities.
“You had the technology in the background, you integrated the background with the live dancers. So there was a lot going on. Fun, history, culture, all kind of mixed into one … the whole thing was put together so well. Going from scene to scene, going through time, and the animators, the live actors with those animated scenes in the background. Really cool,” said Mr. Koehler, who shared that he has been to school for 3D animation and multimedia.
The Shen Yun Orchestra, which tours with Shen Yun, is a unique combination of traditional Chinese instruments and a classic Western ensemble.
“The mix of the different orchestra pieces mixed in with the traditional Chinese pieces, I thought that was amazing,” Mr. Koehler said.
Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
