DAVENPORT, Iowa—Ken Golden, a retired director of Deere & Company, attended Shen Yun’s evening show on Feb. 27, at the Adler Theatre.
Though he is not well-versed in Chinese culture, Mr. Golden said it was “very exciting to see the type of dance and history that was being presented in the show.”
“It’s wonderful to see the heritage brought through the dancers. We see a lot of shows and the quality of this show is at the top. The audience is very much enjoying the experience, and the dancers are very enthusiastic about their work,” he expressed.
“The screen is an amazing technology to me. [The performers] appeared to disappear into the screen. The dancing was fabulous.”
In the decades since the communist regime seized power, Chinese culture was forced to the brink of extinction. The New York-based artists are now seeking to revive China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture and showcase to the world the beauty of China before communism.
Before the spread of atheism, Chinese people were very spiritual and had a deep belief in the divine. For thousands of years, their values and day-to-day actions were strictly governed by the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism.
This came as a surprise to Mr. Golden and he found the artists’ dedication very inspirational.
“I didn’t understand that before communism, China was filled with a desire to know the divine.”
“It was fantastic. Visually, the entire thing was stunning. It was a sharing. You got to see the performance and realize that individual cultures were being shared across that stage for so many different [ethnic groups,]” he expressed.
“Some of the stories I was familiar with, so it was great to see. The others, to realize the connection to an emotion or a virtue that’s shared everywhere—it was really a lot of fun.”
Using classical Chinese, folk, and ethnic dances, as well as solo musical performances, Shen Yun tells tales from ancient times to the modern day.
Mr. Christopher paid particular attention to the theater’s atmosphere throughout the show and loved the energy exchange between the performers and the audience.
“I think the feeling that the performers bring—you practice something to make it look effortless and you bring the energy to keep it effortless throughout that entire performance—that’s a lot of energy you’ve given,” he explained.
“Then, when the audience feels that and gives back with applause or with ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahs’—that becomes a sharing.”
“I think it felt honest. It was beautiful, and it was encompassing,” he stated.
“When we choose to believe in a creator, no matter what we call him, I think the honesty behind that belief comes through. I liked it.”
