For one night only, Shen Yun’s North America company arrived in Grand Forks to a full house performance.
Andrew Lankowicz, president of CHI St. Alexius Health Devils Lake Hospital, attended the performance at Chester Fritz Auditorium on May 5.
“It’s wonderful. It’s good to see the Chinese cultural history and the wonderful choreography, and dance, and the athleticism of the performers and the great music,” he said.
Emily Sahl, a former ballet dancer at the Nutcracker & Holiday Show, enjoyed the interaction between the performers and the backdrop. Shen Yun’s patented-3D projection sets the stage to portray stories from long ago.
“The dancers would pop back up when the characters would merge into the stage. And I thought, wow, that must have taken quite a bit of practice, because the timing would just have to be just right,” said Sahl. “And that takes a lot. [They] had no room for mistake. They did it perfectly.”
It also helps tell stories of a higher power, a key element that inspired traditional Chinese culture.
“It shows a lot of the faith and belief of a higher divine being, and that inspires not only the dancers but inspires the audience,” said Lankowicz.
Unfortunately, those with spiritual beliefs are looked down upon under the current communist regime.
“[It’s] important for, I think, the Chinese in China to have the freedom to meditate and do the kind of things that traditionally, they could do,” said Dennis Tallman, a chemistry professor at North Dakota State University.
“The modern world has drifted away from who we are,” said Sahl. “And we’re turning more secular and so being able to be in touch with who has created us, always be very important.”
“It was interesting to see some of the stories and how they turned out and there was a lot of good stories, and I hope my girls took something away from it. That’s why we came,” said Mike Kimball, co-owner of Kimball Masonry. “Unbelievable talent. That’s the way I would describe it.”
“This just shows that there’s something else, and something that’s peaceful and very enjoyable,” said Lankowicz. “The audience loves it, and I loved it very much.”
NTD News, Grand Forks, North Dakota
