RSS Feed
February 20th, 2023 
Awake Goy PHOENIX—Bob Auray, the president of an investment firm, and his wife Marion celebrated a belated Valentine’s Day by attending Shen Yun’s evening performance at the Phoenix Orpheum on Feb. 19.
The couple agreed that it was “a journey of beauty and a wonderful Valentine’s week present.”
“It was a beautiful performance with beautiful messages,” Mr. Auray said enthusiastically. “The God-given human spirit, the athleticism, the beauty of the performers and costumes, the dance conception—all of it! I’m glad we came.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts was founded in 2006 by a group of leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of China’s ruling communist party. In the decades since the regime’s violent takeover, Chinese traditional culture was forced to the brink of destruction.
Now in the safety of America, these New York-based artists are determined to bring China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture back to life and share with everyone “beauty before communism.”
For Mr. Auray, Shen Yun is an embodiment of “freedom and the independence of spirit.”
“The story of one hundred million people being repressed and their desire for freedom—that’s concerning. I was somewhat aware of it, but this [performance] has brought it home,” he said.
Every time the curtain opens, Shen Yun takes its audience to a different time and place within China’s 5,000 years of history.
In addition to solo musical performances and classical Chinese and folk dances, viewers can also expect to see short storyline dances that recount tales from ancient times to the modern day.
“[Shen Yun] is special. It is a very unique program because it’s an expression of the arts before communism. [In China,] they don’t have the freedom to do this right now,” Mrs. Auray added.
She reflected on how things are in the United States and said “it’s a warning for us of what could come.”
Damian Creamer attended Shen Yun’s evening show at the Phoenix Orpheum, on Feb. 19, 2023. (NTD)Also in the audience was Damian Creamer, the founder and CEO of StrongMind. He, too, was amazed by the beauty and spirituality of Shen Yun.
“The choreography, the dancers, the music, the orchestra—everything was unprecedented and beautiful! I would like to see more of it because it was magnificent,” he exclaimed.
Mr. Creamer especially loved Shen Yun’s music and felt that there was more than just meets the ear.
“All of that was amazing but there was definitely a message behind the music,” he said. “It was trying to convey to the audience the traditional values. It is making sure that we return back to who we are and not be led around by what’s going on in the world at this point in time.”
Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine classical Chinese and Western instruments.
Using a full Western orchestra as the foundation, Shen Yun’s pioneering composition then highlights Chinese folk instruments, such as the two-stringed erhu and the pipa—an ancient Chinese lute, to create a powerful yet unique musical experience.
Mr. Creamer thought Shen Yun’s mission to revive traditional culture is very important because our modern society is very chaotic and dysfunctional.
“We’ve lost our way and treat each other pretty poorly,” he expressed. “It’s incumbent upon all of us to seek out the truth and be compassionate, truthful, and tolerant—these are virtues that we as human beings need to remember.”
“[Shen Yun presents] a beautiful message about how to reset and where to go to find the truth. It’s beautiful to contemplate a different world—a world that is more serene. It was an unbelievable show.”
Reporting by Sherry Dong, NTD, and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
