PHOENIX, Ariz.—Debi L. Hadley, an artist experienced in crafting backgrounds for plays and pageants, was thoroughly impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts on Feb. 13, at the Phoenix Orpheum.
“I liked how the timing [of the dance and music] went so well with the background. It was just beautiful. I appreciated the work and creativity that went into that.”
According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s patented 3D digital technology works together with the performers to “extend the stage to infinite realms” and brings “storytelling without limits” to its audience.
After the evening show, Ms. Hadley said she found inspiration for her own artwork going forward.
“There is always inspiration in something like that because it showed something new—It just gets your mind thinking about, ‘Wow, how did they do that? Where can that lead you?’” she expressed.
Ms. Hadley said she “saw a lot of symbolism” within the dances.
“I loved the message. We all just want to be free—to have the right to learn, to have knowledge, and to be good,” she stated.
“That’s hard when someone is trying to push you down, keep you suppressed, and keep you from things that you really should know in history. There’s a lot of history that gets erased throughout time. That’s not right. I loved that message.”
“We all have the right to be who we are and to worship as long as we’re not hurting other people. It’s our divine right,” she said.
“With us being [in America,] we’ve always just felt like we had our freedom, but compared to [in China,] there’s a lot of things that you can’t do over there. It’s just sad that they’re not allowed to learn and express themselves.”
To the artists, Ms. Hadley would like to say, “Keep up the good fight.”
“We count our blessings here and do what we can do. I think, we as Americans, need to fight for our rights because we’re losing them little by little. So, [the message] to me is, don’t let it get that far. A great message.”