SAN FRANCISCO—It takes courage to speak the truth, and it takes persistence to convince someone of the truth. Since 2006, Shen Yun Performing Arts has been using dance and music to raise awareness of atrocities being committed in communist China.
“It made me think, because I live in San Francisco, you really don’t hear this kind of dialogue about this historic, cultural past and present-day situation. [San Francisco] is all business drive, so no one says anything about the influence of communism in China,” he said on Jan. 4.
“I think it’s very important because someone has to do it and you’re like a catalyst, but in such a very unusual way because it’s a very rich culture,” Mr. Grant said.
“I would say what I really learned was the situation in present-day modern China is probably more difficult than we know. That’s what I learned today,” Mr. Grant said.
“It’s one world, and we’re all one people. Maybe slightly different, but we should have more freedom to express our ideas and wishes for ourselves, our children, and everyone,” he added.
Bearing, Form, and Technique
According to the Shen Yun website, classical Chinese dance has three main components; bearing, form, and technique.“I love the music, and the orchestra did a very nice job creating these unusual sounds, which is different from European music,” Mr. Grant said.
“The sound of the music is also quite melodic. I saw the Beijing opera because I was in Beijing, but the music was very different from what I hear today,” he said.
He added that Shen Yun’s music “makes you feel relaxed.”