“The level of artistry is just right up there. I can’t think of anything that compares with it,” said Bill Robinson, an award-winning columnist and TV journalist. “I was struck by how little Americans know about the Chinese culture. We know it’s 3,000 years old or more. We know that it’s got a special, classical kind of instrumentation and a different style of dance. And it was just so nice seeing it, especially with the backdrops. And the backdrops were so beautifully done with the digital screen, and the dancers with such colorful costumes, and so graceful. It was really amazing.”
“It wasn’t enough, two hours was not enough. I could have watched for longer. So beautiful, stunning. Just stunning. The dancers, the costumes. I can’t imagine how many hours of work go into the costumes,” said Christine Robinson, a journalist. “It’s amazing to have a live orchestra anymore. You just don’t see a live orchestra anywhere anymore. So that was really special to me. There was one point where there was a violin that literally sounded like it was weeping. When they were showing some of the difficult parts. I got emotional about it, it was just beautiful.”
“The Cultural Revolution was not a revolution about culture. It was a revolution to get rid of culture. And so that’s why it’s so important now that the culture comes back, and if China’s smart, they’ll let your group back in,” Mr. Robinson said. “But if they were smart and not a bunch of bunglers, they would let you come back in and share the history and tradition of China with all the Chinese people.”
Ms. Robinson said, “It is spirituality, and that can take you into the most magical places. I think it’s pure. I think it goes to the core of who we are as souls, not just someone telling you this is what you should believe. Read this, and this is what you should believe. I think it’s a way to get in touch with your inner self.”
Malign actors connected to the Chinese Communist Party have been making fake bomb threats to stop Shen Yun’s performances. Email-based threats have claimed that bombs will detonate if performances proceed. The CCP has tried to disrupt Shen Yun since its founding in 2006.
“They’re telling a story, and they’re telling a story of beauty, and then they go in and they just take a short departure into unprecedented crime. And that is so interesting because it’s just part of what communist agents and confident communist infiltrators do all over the world. They go into good countries, and they try to destroy them with crime and with dissension and splitting up freedom and tolerance. And tolerance, compassion, truth, those are really important things,” Mr. Robinson said.
He added, “I’m going to write, I already have it planned out. The first half will be about the beauty and the tranquility beyond the imagination of Shen Yun, and then the second half will go into how the New York Times is an absolutely lying organization that is really just manipulating people into thinking that this beautiful event, this beautiful performance company, is some kind of fraud or using people or slave labor. The New York Times is just lying about it all over the place.”
“I would love to tell them how incredibly talented they are, how beautiful the show is, and how much I appreciate the fact that they are putting themselves out there to tell this story. When I know that it’s difficult, I know that there are people who are trying to stop them from telling the story, but it’s so important. So I would say, don’t stop whatever you do. Keep doing what you’re doing, share the beauty,” Ms. Robinson said.
