LONDON—Shen Yun Performing Arts enchanted the audience at the Eventim Apollo on Jan. 10. Among them were Rana and Sumera Zubair, who were thoroughly delighted with the performance.
“These kind of shows, actually, are really, really good. We are enjoying it a lot,” said Mrs. Zubair, a primary school teacher.
Mr. Zubair, an accountant, said the ancient stories impressed him. Such stories are good to learn and pass on to the next generation, he said.
Mrs. Zubair said her husband did meditation, an activity often done in traditional cultures which is shown in some of the Shen Yun stories on stage.
“That’s why he’s very close to nature; he likes nature. So, this reminds us of all of those things, you know, the memories we have,” she said.
But due to time constraints, Mr. Zubair said he doesn’t meditate as much as he once did.
“[Shen Yun] just reminded me of the good old days of myself,” said Mr. Zubair.
When he watched the performers meditating in some scenes, he thought: “I feel that we should really go back to our basics, which is closer to nature.”
Mr. Zubair said he connected with the spiritual message woven throughout the performance. He said the stories in Shen Yun bring you back to your original nature.
“In my mind, the message is that whatever we do, wherever we are, we should stick to our original nature and where we come from. And, we should not change ourselves too much,” he said.
The couple enjoyed the orchestra and the singers who performed.
The music adds a great deal to the dancers’ performance, according to Mrs. Zubair. “They are linked,” she said.
Mr. Zubair said he connected with the lyrics sung by the singers. “I would say it should resonate with everyone,” he added.
Ancient Traditions
Mrs. Zubair noted the importance of maintaining the beauty of traditions amid an increasingly technological world.
It’s vital to maintain “the nature of beauty,” she said. “You have technology, you have so many new things coming up,” she said. “I’m not saying that they’re bad, but you should keep the traditions and preserve our beauty.”
She said it is vital that traditions are maintained, adding that she and her husband are teaching their children their cultural traditions.
“Who else is going to teach them, otherwise?” Mrs. Zubair asked.
“So, I’m thinking, everyone should do that. Everyone should talk about traditions and tell their children as well,” she said.
Mr. Zubair said people should not get caught up in the material world.
“I think it’s really important. [Shen Yun] is a good reminder … that you need to go back to your nature and not be lost in the worldly things,” he said.
Connection to God
Mrs. Zubair noted a deeper message Shen Yun shared about humankind’s relationship with the Creator.
“And the connection to God, you know, it’s very important. If you’re close to God, you’re away from sins, and you’re away from bad things,” she said.
“When you’re away from God, then you obviously have more negative thinking,” she said, adding that being in such a state can lead to people being involved in things they shouldn’t.
“I think it’s good to stay very close to God,” she said.
Ancient values are beneficial to the modern world and elevate people morally, according to Mrs. Zubair.
“If you are kind, and if you are caring about other people, it’s good for you, and it’s good for everyone. It’s all about humanity,” she said.
Mr. Zubair said they greatly enjoyed the She Yun performances featuring ancient times.
“The olden times were good. Then new things have come up, and the industry and the technology—industrialization really—changed things quite a lot,” he said.
Mrs. Zubair agreed.
“I feel the same. It’s too busy. You know, here especially, life is very busy, and we don’t have time for ourselves. That’s why we came here today, to just, you know, take time for ourselves,” she said.
The Zubairs said they would recommend that people come to see Shen Yun.
“Yes, I would recommend that if you need to go back to your nature, you want to reconnect yourself, you need to come down and kind of refine yourself, this gives you an opportunity to go back to your basics and nature,” said Mr. Zubair.
Mrs. Zubair said, “You must go to watch [Shen Yun] if you want to have that.”
Reporting by Chloe Hsiao and Yvonne Marcotte.
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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