SAN JOSE, Calif.—Retired college professor Tony Pino had a “wonderful” time at Shen Yun Performing Arts’ matinee when he saw it for the first time on Dec. 28.
“I really enjoyed it,” he said from San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts. The dancers “were wonderful—very athletic, very coordinated, very physical. They’re great.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun’s 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, the company preserves and performs this tradition in its most authentic form, as it was originally passed down through the generations.
Mr. Pino also loved the spiritual element of the performance. He was especially moved by the finale, which depicted the Creator descending from heaven and rescuing humanity in times of trouble.
“It’s great, it’s very, very beautiful,” he stated. “We need more of that right now, especially because we’re not spiritual enough.”
China is one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Its 5,000 years of history are filled with divinely-inspired legends and traditions. Yet, within just a few decades of the Chinese communists’ rise to power, this magnificent culture was almost destroyed and replaced with materialism and atheism.
Today, Shen Yun artists are working to revive this lost culture and bring back, through dance and music, the beauty of “China before communism.”
Commenting on the story-based dance shedding light on human rights abuses and the ongoing persecution of people of faith in China, Mr. Pino said, “It’s horrible.” As a professor of literature and critical thinking, he is no stranger to the hardships of society and appreciates Shen Yun’s efforts to restore traditional culture and values.
“It’s horrible what [the Chinese Communist Party] is doing to the Uyghurs and what they’re doing to other people. You feel the possibility of an autocracy looming in Taiwan, and I don’t like that,” he expressed.
“It’s a human right—the right to free choice, choice of religion, choice of speech. No one has the right to stop that. No one has the right to censor that.”
Though Shen Yun is currently banned by the ruling communist regime from performing in China, it has thrived internationally, growing from one to eight equally-sized companies since its establishment in 2006. Each year, the artists return with brand-new choreography, stories, and compositions.
Mr. Pino expressed his thanks to all of Shen Yun’s performers for their dedication and efforts. “Thank you,” he said. “We’re very grateful.”
