SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun an Amazing Expression of Beauty, Says Independent School President

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Shen Yun an Amazing Expression of Beauty, Says Independent School President
John Polasko and Christy Donovan enjoyed Shen Yun at The Hippodrome Theatre on April 29, 2023. Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times
BALTIMORE—Seeing traditional Chinese culture through Shen Yun Performing Arts, John Polasko felt one takeaway was that “we have more in common than I would have imagined.”

Mr. Polasko, president of an independent school, enjoyed the evening performance together with Ms. Christy Donovan, physical therapist, at The Hippodrome Theatre on April 29.

“It’s pretty, pretty amazing,” said Mr. Polasko. “Learning about some of the culture, the Chinese culture, especially the pre-communist China, has been pretty new.”

“A love of beauty, spiritual, peace, is definitely something that we have in common even though it may express itself in different ways based on different cultures. There’s still a commonality in terms of respect for a higher being.”

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company and has since 2006 put on an all-new production each season.

Ms. Donovan said the production was beautiful.

“Just meticulously done and with love and care. And I think it’s just a really beautiful representation of the culture,” she said.

‘You Have to Have Principle’

Also in the audience were the Hadleys, who were moved by the beauty of the performance.

Scott Hadley, an audits and inspections lead for the U.S. government, was impressed with even the use of colors in the production.

“I was just telling my wife I was impressed by how vivid all the colors were and how crisp everything seemed. We’re up close here, so it’s even better than for the people back there. Really enjoy it, enjoy the story so far,“ he said. ”The brighter hues, the pinks, and the reds ... mixing right in with all those earth tones... the whole picture is just amazing.”

The experience leading up to intermission had been invigorating for the couple.

“It had a lot of energy. It had a lot of energy to it,” said Mr. Hadley. “The dance, physically, you can see the work those dancers were putting into that, and it’s just—I thought it was very impressive.”

Mrs. Carley Hadley, a financial analyst, agreed, adding that the artists had a lot of passion. The performance was an educational experience, she said, and gave her a better picture of what China was and is today.

“I think it as well opens up the heart to maybe have a little more compassion for the Chinese people on their end, on how their traditions and how they’ve been raised and brought up. So it gives me a little more compassion for that culture,” she said.

Mr. Hadley said he agreed. “I think it awakens some feelings and some opinions on traditional China and now communist China.”

“I think it’s sad that the culture is being lost. But as far as the effort of bringing it back, it’s a brave thing to do. I think in communist China—I think it’s very dangerous for the people who are trying to do it. But I think it’s good they’re doing it. You have to have principle, right?”

Reporting by Sherry Dong.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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