ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, impressed William Dalton and his wife Karen.
Mr. Dalton is a physician and scientist in medical and cancer research, while Mrs. Dalton chairs the committee for starting campaigns to help in cancer research and also in historic preservation.
“We enjoyed [Shen Yun] very much, it’s very impressive,” Mr. Dalton said at the Mahaffey Theater. “It’s sort of a blend between dance and athleticism. It’s very uplifting, enthusiastic and optimistic.”
“Classical Chinese dance is built on the fundamentals of bearing, form, and technical skill, including many difficult aerial techniques, but being richly expressive at the same time,” the Shen Yun website says.
Mrs. Dalton reminisced, how as a child, she thought of China as being “so far away and exotic.”
“But now I have been [to China] … I think that we need to learn more about this big country that has so many implications globally, for economy and world peace, and education, science and business,” said Mrs. Dalton.
Shen Yun has set out on a mission to revive 5,000 years of civilization, in particular the spirituality that was part of China’s divinely inspired culture.
Mr. Dalton agreed with his wife when she said, “I have my personal belief and what I think is everybody has the right to their own belief, and that no one is right or wrong, and obviously, in the United States that’s what we say that we have a right of freedom of religion, so I’m for that.
“It makes me want to learn more. It’s beautifully, beautifully done by talented, talented, talented performers,” said Mrs. Dalton.
Her husband agreed: “Everyone should have the right to express their own religion, and no one should be suppressed. So, that’s disconcerting when you see suppression. There’s no right or wrong, everybody has the right to their own belief and to practice it.”
He thought it was unfortunate Shen Yun could not appear in China.
Many of the values and traditions were lost in the decades after the Chinese Communist Party took power in China. They can no longer be seen on stage in their country of origin.
Reporting by Edie Bassen and Raiatea Tahana-Reese
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
