DETROIT—Four friends were immersed in Chinese culture at the Friday Jan. 25 performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Detroit Opera House. Shen Yun enjoys the artistic freedom of New York to bring ancient legends and virtues back to life.
Deborah Livneh a session business professor at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, said, “I think that it is hard to fight with peaceful ideas, … We hear something very superficial but now deeper, so now it’s time to learn more about it.”
Shen Yun was formed by a group of classical Chinese artists who came together with a mission to revive the true, divinely inspired culture of China, according to the Shen Yun website.
Ms. Livneh enjoys being involved and giving back to the community, as well as aiding entrepreneurs bring their big ideas to market, and have the opportunity to contribute to the region’s tech community’s future successes.
She was amazed with the performance saying “how the art, the dancing, the colors, the beauty of the choreography, everything was just very impressive.”
One of her companions Danny Saar, a consultant of recruiting, wanted to know more about the stories behind some of the pieces. “I need to read more about Dafa to try to understand what they are trying to do, but it looks like they are nice people,” he said.
Mr. Saar was referring to a dance that tells a story of good versus evil in China today—the communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice.
Ms. Livneh talked about “how the art, the dancing, the colors, the beauty of the choreography, everything was just very impressive. The message was great for art, very impressive. And we didn’t expect that. We thought it was Chinese from China. We didn’t realize what it is and it’s impressive.”
Another one of their group, Joshua Belaovitz, vice president at a pharmaceutical drug wholesaler, had a philosophical view and said, “This dynasty will disappear and the new dynasty will arrive. Right? That’s pretty much the message—big change in freedom, [in] understanding.”
He thought the performance was beautiful: “The beautiful dance, beautiful company, beautiful costumes, music, everything was fantastic.”
His friend Hzi Saar, vice president of athletic club, agreed saying, “We loved the music; we loved the colors, the dancing, the costumes. I mean everything was absolutely beautiful.”
They all enjoyed the array of ancient stories, myths, and legends, and inspiration for the future.
Ms. Livneh was impressed about everything in the performance finally saying, “the colors and the dancing, it’s just amazing.”
Reporting by Dongyu Teng and Janine Rankin.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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