Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to Billings, Montana, for two performances. Audience members marveled at its beauty and purpose.
“Just uplifting, just really, really beautiful. … It releases you from the daily grind of what you’re dealing with,” said Daniel Laffin, police chief of Lovell, Wyoming.
“If you think about 5,000 years ago, we did not have social media, we were not in communication,” said his wife Nicolle Laffin, owner of Mustang Mountain Vineyard. “And we all share the same things—art and music and science and math and religion as well, and moral values. And it wasn’t just one culture that did that. We all do that. And I think that’s something that resonates for us as a species.”
“I think there’s religious undertones that go throughout all of the dance and the maneuvers and things that they’re doing, and of course, the things that they’re saying and singing. That adds kind of a different dimension to it. So I think the spiritual, religious aspect, the cultural aspect, and then the political aspect really works well in the show,” said Daniel Catone, CEO of Golden State Wealth Management LLC.
Traditional Chinese culture is known to be divinely inspired. In the past, people’s faith was woven into its culture, as depicted in some of Shen Yun’s pieces.
“One of the most basic beliefs is we have a religion founded on love and kindness and truth and dignity of every [single] person,” said Mr. Catone. “To hear what the Chinese people have to say through the dance, and the expression of kindness and honesty and the unity that they’re expressing, I think, is very lovely and nice.”
“I really appreciated the context of a higher being and coming into life and how it touches life,” said Mr. Laffin. “And how if you appeal to a higher being, you’re going to be okay, you know, things are going to work out. So I really appreciated that because you don’t see that very often now.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional culture, which was nearly lost under China’s communist regime.
“I think it’s important that we remember our roots, regardless of whose religion it is, that we stay true to our roots and our past and hold on to morality,” said Aaron Consalvi, vice president of sales at Clipper Magazine.
“Most people don’t get outside of YouTube or Facebook. So you know, finding something that’s real and authentic is hard to do. And it’s a great experience and opportunity to feel the emotion that the dancers bring,” he added.
Audience members believe Shen Yun is educational for children.
“I brought both of my girls because I think cultural expression is important. I want my kids to be exposed to other nations, and other cultures, and peoples, and their beliefs,” said Mr. Catone. “I think recognizing the oppression that’s going on in China by the communist government against the people and the religious persecution is important, so I want them to be exposed to the truth.”
“We see this often in history, that humanity loses this way,” said Mr. Laffin. “But we can come back to things that are good … and nurturing and fulfilling. Not for one group, but for all of us as a species. And I think we’ll get there.”
Shen Yun has eight companies traveling the world simultaneously.
NTD News, Billings, Montana
