AUSTIN—David Kennedy and Gaby Pohl were impressed with Shen Yun Performing Arts’ portrayal of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and were supportive of the arts group raising awareness that China under communist rule is devoid of religious freedom.
“Both of us we met at church, and we’re both Christian,” said Mr. Kennedy, a technology manager at IBM. He and Ms. Pohl, a Spanish teacher, saw Shen Yun at The Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin on Dec. 29.
Mr. Kennedy said that although the stories depicted were from ancient China, the storylines were similar in theme and translated well to his own faith.
“Oh, I like it very much,” he said. “I like the beauty, the art, dancing.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, with a mission of showing the world China before communism.
For 5,000 years, the Chinese believed the culture was divinely inspired, and the concept of spiritual self-betterment was a cornerstone of society. Principles and morals taken from Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism were commonplace in everyday life.
Mr. Kennedy said that as someone who works in technology, he was impressed with Shen Yun’s innovative use of a digital backdrop along with a millennia-old art form. Ms. Pohl was, too, impressed, saying she wouldn’t have thought it possible a few years ago.
The backdrop is Shen Yun’s own patented invention, able to seamlessly extend the stage up into the heavens or deep undersea.
Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Pohl also said that the persecution of people of faith by the Chinese Communist Party was very unfortunate, and supported Shen Yun’s artistic ways of bringing it up.
“I think it’s very important to let others know and educate people about what’s really going on in other parts of the world,” Ms. Pohl said. “It brings awareness to Americans that just don’t know what’s going on in China, for example. So I love that. I love that they mention that.”
Mr. Kennedy added that it was a reminder not to take freedoms for granted.
“I’d say the biggest thing that we take away from the show is the fact that [we] don’t take freedom for granted. Freedom comes at a cost and a price. And everyone that has freedom should be very lucky and feel fortunate and blessed to have freedom,” he said.
Mr. Kennedy said he wanted to add a note of thanks to the musicians of the orchestra, which performs all original works composed anew each year for Shen Yun’s performances. As an amateur musician himself, he had plans to start playing again, and seeing their excellence inspired him.
Mr. Kennedy said he would summarize the experience as “impactful, entertaining, meaningful, beautiful, artistic, educational.”
“As I say to the kids, edutainment and edufun,” he quipped.
Reporting by Nancy Ma and Catherine Yang.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
From The Epoch Times
