This aspect of the Shen Yun performance greatly resonated with Mr. Bonifacio.
“The characters interacted with both realms—the earthly realm and the heavenly realm,” he noted, adding that he was touched by “the understanding of those realms of spirit world that affect our own world.”
‘Sense of compassion and serving others’
The performance included story-based dances that depicted the peaceful resistance of practitioners of the Falun Gong meditation practice under communist persecution in today’s Mainland China.
Referring to meditation, Mr. Bonifacio said that “it’s certainly what we have to do, there’s so much violence in the world.”
“We’re being oppressed by the violence in the world and people feel [that] if they need to, they can achieve what they want to achieve through violence,” Mr. Bonifacio said.
“Freedom of expression and freedom of mind is more important, than controlling people’s thoughts, minds, and actions,” he said.
Despite violent oppression, the practitioners of Falun Gong remained true to their principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” The themes of kindness and courage also ran through the other dances and songs of the Shen Yun production.
“That sense of compassion and serving others—most important,” Mr. Bonifacio said. “So it’s important to bring that expression around and remind people that’s more important than fighting over possessions, or land, or political ideas.”
Captivating synchronization and precision
He had high praise for the show overall.
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