AUGUSTA, Ga.—Steve and Adrina Wald, both local company owners, made the trip from Greenville, South Carolina, to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center in Augusta, Georgia in order to see Shen Yun Performing Arts, a Christmas present exchanged between the couple.
“It’s phenomenal, unbelievable. Beautiful, flawless, excellent,” Mr. Wald said during intermission. “These dancers are first class. First class.”
“I think the same. It’s beautiful,” Mrs. Wald said.
Shen Yun’s dancers are indeed the world’s leading classical Chinese dancers, trained in New York, where Shen Yun is based. Formed in 2006, the performing arts group takes as its mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through music and dance and share it with the world.
Mr. Wald said the experience was well worth the drive and urged others, “Don’t miss it.”
“It’s a phenomenal show,” he said.
For five millennia, China was a spiritual land, its culture divinely inspired. Though dynasties rose and fell, societies always centered around the concept of harmony between heaven, earth, and humankind—until the Chinese communist regime took power in 1949, launching violent revolutions to destroy China’s past and cultural heritage.
Scott Elledge, who works in broadcast, lauded Shen Yun’s mission to revive a once-almost-lost culture.
“I appreciate the fact that that culture is being kept alive through dance and through a performance like this. I think that’s critical and crucial in today’s society, to keep that culture visible and just letting us see the insights of the history,” he said.
Having worked in production in the past, Mr. Elledge could only marvel at the scale and precision of Shen Yun’s production.
“The production is absolutely outstanding,” he said. Between the orchestra, dancers, and animated backdrop, the synchronization itself seemed to impress everyone, most of all those who knew where to look.
“The timing is impeccable. The effects, the use of the big screen—just the way everything is coordinated, timed, and executed was absolutely outstanding,” Mr. Elledge said.
But it wasn’t the technical perfection that took Mr. Elledge’s breath away. He said it was the artists‘ evident “love and passion,” their values that were conveyed through the art.
“The passion, the love, just really stood out at this point, really did,” he said. “I felt moved throughout the show.”
“The biggest message is the culture—just the peace—the love always striving to be the best you can be throughout whatever you’re doing,” he said. “It’s positive. It’s uplifting, wonderful.”
He hoped to share a word of encouragement to the artists: Keep it going. Keep moving forward with it and keep the positive message going the compassion, and the passion for putting on a show like this that you can share and impact the community that you all are visiting.”
Reporting by Frank Xie, 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.
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