ROCHESTER, N.Y.—For former Cornell Professor Brian Wansink, bringing the family to watch Shen Yun was a chance to see the real China before communism.
“Seeing what the spirit was like, what the people were like, what they hoped about, what they moved for, what they dreamed for. And that’s been very powerful,” said Wansink, director of research at Healthy By Design.
Wansink was a top food researcher for Cornell University, heading its Food and Brand lab.
“It’s a tremendous message for the show, far beyond the amazing dancing,” he said.
Shen Yun’s weekend performance in Rochester, New York, was the last leg of its North America tour. It also drew other academics in the area.
“Beautiful. It’s a gorgeous performance. I’m learning about the traditions of China, ancient China,” said Caroline Easton, professor of behavioral health at Rochester Institute of Technology.
She noted a dance story where a general saved his lord’s newborn from the war was very touching, “how basically the loyalty in saving the baby at the mother’s wishes and bringing the baby back to the father and fighting through the war to get the baby back to the origins.”
Richard Doolittle, professor of biomedical sciences program at the same university said the performance was a joy. “The stories that are included in all of the dance are very deep spiritual stories.”
Luis F. Chavez, a physician, also touched on the traditional values in Shen Yun’s dance stories: “It reminds us how we come from a traditional family where those values are very important to keep it to yourself and extend to your generations.”
Cindy Coons, owner of Axis HR, said there’s a battle between light and dark: “And the fact that people need to understand that there’s something bigger and better out there. And I think that they need to understand that that we are here for a special purpose. And I think Shen Yun helps us understand that a little bit better.”
Coons added she thinks Shen Yun would help people to understand that purpose a little bit better.
NTD News, Rochester, NY
