At California’s capital, Shen Yun wowed audience members with its first two performances in Sacramento on Jan. 24 and 25 at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center. Most saw the performance for the first time.
“It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. Just the choreography, the dance, everything about it is just amazing,” said Rodney Daniels, business analyst at Inova Health System.
“Love it. All the CGI in the background. It was really amazing how the ladies and the fellas would jump off the platform and then time it perfectly with all of the CGI acting going on in the back, it was great,” said Nick Merica, a mason contractor.
“The storyline’s passionate. I was extremely impressed by the synchronicity in … the players, the dancers, but just their passion. I was actually quite moved by how brave they are to bring the story forth,” said Bobbie Merica, CEO of Creating Answers to Your Training Challenges.
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of China’s divinely inspired culture, much of which was lost during the Cultural Revolution.
“The culture is vital,” said Mr. Daniels. “It’s a huge part of I think what they’re trying to express. To them, I imagine it’s deeply spiritual. It’s more than ‘I just come here and dance.’ It’s like, ‘I have a story to tell.’”
“The divine intervention that they kept showing, I really enjoyed that,” said Mr. Merica. “It was a nice message that you don’t see a lot these days.”
“It just puts you in touch with the tradition that’s interesting, enlightening, inspiring. It was really, really great,” said Darrell Cyphers, database manager at Tetra Tech.
Shen Yun brings China’s myths and legends to life on stage. It also depicts China today. Under China’s communist rule, people are persecuted for their faith.
“I think the freedom in which they have to deliver the message is, as an American, that’s one of our foundations. So it was very inspiring to see that,” said Haley Armstrong, director at Volunteers of America Northern California and Northern Nevada.
“What they are doing is not an easy story to tell. It’s not an easy story to tell in a way that’s going to engage your audience and bring forth the passion, and you can see how much they love what they’re doing and how important it is actually to them,” said Ms. Merica. “So conveying that in an audience and generating that level of enthusiasm is also a little bit difficult, and they’ve done it beautifully.”
“So it was beautiful. Just totally thrilled,” said Mr. Merica. “It was such a treat to watch them do their true art, and the message was beautiful as well.”
NTD News, Sacramento, California
