TUCSON, Ariz.—In a society where everything must be proven with science, it is easy for some to forget that there are higher powers around us. Shen Yun Performing Arts is using its art to portray the way that the divine help those who are deserving.
“I mean we all know inside our hearts that there is more than just what we can see, and I think as we live our lives we do want to have courage, we want to be kind, we want to be truthful, and we want to have compassion for other people. So those of course touch your heart, because that is who we truly are inside,” said Maryann Garcia, who attended Shen Yun’s performance with Alex Garcia, a business owner. The two saw the
performance at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on Feb. 12.
Shen Yun is based in New York and, using classical Chinese dance and music, is telling audiences around the world about the
beauty of China before communism, as well as how communism has changed China.
“It’s very interesting learning about what’s happened through communism there, and we’re actually very interested in learning more,” said Mr. Garcia.
Since communism took power in China, the regime has used its totalitarian power to erase the tradtitional culture that differs from its atheist ideology.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive that lost civilization.
“What they’re sharing is how they believe in a Creator, and I think that everyone should be allowed to believe what they want to believe as long as they don’t impede on other people’s freedoms,” said Ms. Garcia.
Ms. Garcia felt the themes in
Shen Yun were timely. With cellphones and social media becoming more influential by the day, the performance and stories showed the importance of unplugging and really socializing with people.
“I think we definitely have lost the ability to truly be. It seems that through social media, everybody’s being impacted on how should they act and behave in order to gain popularity and acceptance,” said Ms. Garcia.
Shen Yun’s orchestra is an ensemble that uses a classical orchestra as its foundation while highlighting traditional Chinese instruments like the
pipa and
erhu.
“The music is beautiful. The conductor and the group are doing an amazing job. I told my son, it’s shocking that this is all happening live,” said Ms. Garcia.
Each year,
Shen Yun puts on an all new production. With 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, there is no end to the material that Shen Yun can choose from.
Ms. Garcia wanted to convey a message of gratitude.
“Thank you so much for working hard to put this together and get this message out. I think it’s very helpful to individuals and to families to help continue to rebuild traditional values,” said Ms. Garcia.
Reporting by Mary Mann and Maria Han.
