Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to Eugene, Oregon for two performances. Some audience members had been waiting for a few years to see the show.
“Fantastic. It’s beautiful. It’s really touching—the music, the colors, the dance, the live orchestra,” said Erik Hasselman, a prosecutor.
“I loved it. And very exciting and bright and colorful. And my favorite thing was the water sleeves performance that just hit every button. It was beautiful,” Terri Roberts, co-founder of Sanitech Building Maintenance.
“Just the personality of the dancers really shone through as well as their athleticism, the choreography, the music, the orchestra,” said Rebecca Shehee, a fundraising consultant.
“I picked up on a couple of different things that I was not aware [of], like the tumbles and some of the dances that are often associated with gymnastics that are actually traditional Chinese dancing. That was different. That’s something that I learned,” said Priscila Hasselman, juvenile parole and probation officer in Oregon. “And just the singing part just happened, and that was very impressive. [He] has a magnificent voice, and the piano-playing was incredible.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive an ancient culture that was nearly lost under the Chinese Communist Party. Dance pieces include different ethnic groups and dynasties across 5,000 years of China’s history. This includes China today where people are persecuted for their beliefs.
“The piece related to modern day, and it’s tragic to consider that persecution is still going on for people’s beliefs in parts of the world, including China, but I think they do a touching job of bringing that to life,” said Mr. Hasselman.
“The fact that it continues to happen currently, I just feel like it does spread some awareness of what is going on currently in China, and that’s something I was not aware it continued to happen. And I suppose that’s a byproduct of living on the other side of the world. You just don’t see it. You don’t feel like it’s happening if you don’t see it,” said Mrs. Hasselman.
“I think coming out of the pandemic, people have been quite isolated. And I think it’s just so much fun and so galvanizing to be in the audience with all these excited people cheering on the performers and musicians,” said Shehee.
“I almost wanted to cry. I didn’t quite, but there were emotions there. And then lots of laughing and lots of just rejoicing with them. And you know, very interesting all the way through,” said Roberts. “They kept my attention. That’s hard to do.”
The group next heads to Seattle, Washington, for 10 performances.
NTD News, Eugene, Oregon
