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NEW YORK—Shen Yun Performing Arts’ extravaganza of classical Chinese dance and music entered its third day at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater on June 25.
The afternoon show once again drew enthusiastic and long applause from the audience.
Li Yuan, a Chinese cultural official, was very excited and deeply touched by the New York-based Shen Yun and looks forward to the day when Shen Yun is allowed to perform in mainland China.
The elegant lady who kept applauding while watching the show is an official in China’s cultural department and is in the United States visiting relatives.
Ms. Li said she had to try hard to control her emotions to keep the tears from flowing.
“The beauty, sincerity, shock, kindness, and warmth of this show, as well as my love for it, simply cannot be described in language. No language in this world can fully depict or describe (Shen Yun) and [its] magnificence.
“For so many years, I have never seen such a wonderful performance as this, not even in China.”
Ms. Li said that this is the first time she had felt such genuine and new feelings.
“I was especially shaken by the first program,” she explained. “As soon as the curtain opens, gods walked towards us. The world of deities unfolded before our eyes. The whole atmosphere of the theater suddenly changed. It was very sacred. Every character seemed to walk down from fairyland.”
Ms. Li said that she could feel the power of gods.
“The atmosphere is very peaceful, full of energy and compassion," she added. “The costumes are so exquisite, the dance so graceful, the backdrop so magnificent, the music so touching, and the stage color and lighting so bright, it is really a feast of beautiful performances.”
She especially praised the dancer’s eye expressions, body movements, and well-coordinated hand gestures.
“This is an integration of mind, body, and soul," Ms. Li said. “The performers must have a deep understanding of culture, otherwise they could not have achieved such a perfect inward and outward coordination and cooperation; they could not have accomplished such expressive dance.”
Ms. Li also praised the male emcee. “He hosted the show with poise, class, and humor.”
She mentioned that she had gone to many countries in Europe and learned their history and culture.
“However, they are not as intricate and profound as Chinese culture,” Ms. Li said. “Today’s performance makes me even more convinced of this.
“China has thousands of years of culture; with such deep and ancient content, no other nation can compete with it.” Ms. Li said. “Westerners like it and can understand it too. This can be felt through their applause.”
She was deeply impressed by every program.
“Shen Yun reproduced our thousands of years of civilization. Every story, every period of history, every dance, and every piece of music exhilarated me. For many years, I did not have the feeling like today. It is so warm. My heart is dancing with the performers, and dancing together with each note and each rhythm.”
Ms. Li thinks the modern Western culture is different from the East, and the American culture so much younger.
“Today’s Chinese people blindly follow modern Western culture,” Ms. Li said. “I do not think the young people today really understand or cherish their own traditional culture. They need to see Shen Yun.
“I believe Shen Yun will gradually become the model of traditional Chinese culture in people’s minds around the world. I am really grateful to the contributions and effort made by these overseas artists.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts is comprised of three companies that travel the world performing in cities on four continents. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Read the original Chinese article
