SAN ANTONIO—Ed Jones, retired scientist, had been to China and enjoyed a scenic trip, but had not experienced the divinely-inspired Chinese culture.
Watching New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, he saw “a dimension I had not seen before,” he said at the Lila Cockrell Theatre Wednesday night.
“I like it very much,” he said, noting he liked the ethnic and folk dances, such as the Mongolian Bowl Dance.
Another aspect Mr. Jones realized he couldn’t see in China was the persecution of Falun Gong, as addressed in An Unexpected Encounter.
“It has to be done,” he said. “It was creative and impactful.”
The dance told the story of two tourists in China, who by chance witness the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution first hand, and have a fateful encounter with the spiritual practice of Falun Gong.
The piece was an enlightening moment for many audience members. Architect James Tousignant noted the spirituality of the Chinese culture and saw that even in An Unexpected Encounter, the “darkest” piece, there was a light from the divine aspect of the culture.
“Even in the darkest one, there were a couple of resurrections. I like that idea of a higher power, of a deity, whatever that deity may be,” Mr. Tousignant said. “It doesn’t have to be explained, it’s there, omnipresent, in the show.”
“I love Chinese culture,” he said. “[It’s] unique, age-old, historic.”
Mr. Tousignant said he thought it was wonderful that Shen Yun was reviving the culture. “Anything that can educate all, everybody, … they should present it.”
For Ms. Janice Adair, who attended the performance with a group of friends, the world of traditional Chinese culture that Shen Yun brought alive was “just magic to me.”
“I loved it, it was just like magic, I wish it had lasted longer,” Ms. Adair said.
“It made me feel like I was in another world,” she said. “It made me feel joyous.”
Ms. Adair said she felt as if she was in a world of “the past glory, China, the past grace.”
“It was like a fantasy, but it was real,” she said. “It was a world of grace and beauty.”
“Thank God they’re doing it,” she said of Shen Yun’s mission. “It’s a 5,000-year-old culture. … I’m so glad they’re making these statements. I hope the people here are taking this in—that you can lose even a 5,000-year-old [culture].”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
