“Beautiful, very synchronized, amazing acrobatics. And it was beautiful and excellent,” said Elizabeth Weis, a former ballet dancer. “I know how hard it is to do some of those moves, and it was just excellent. The grace, their professional beauty, the way they smiled and they brought you into their dance, it was just lovely.”
“It’s mesmerizing. It’s eye-popping,” said Ken Malloy, a former news anchor. “It was just absolutely mesmerizing. The talent on stage is unbelievable.”
“It was a fully sensory experience, you know, the emotions and the colors, the first time that person came and popped up into the screen, we were all like, how did he do that? It was clever, it was fun, it was light-hearted, but it was serious,” said Lois Russell, a financial adviser.
Brian Riffel, an airline captain, said: “The energy, just the energy is so high with almost everything, and it brings so much emotion, and then the dancers, as they’re moving, and the fluidity of their movements just brings so much more emotion. And then you include the technology that adds to it. As we [watched] the show, we giggled several times, because the way the stories are being told it’s just so much fun, really adds to it.”
Kris Johnson, a dance instructor, said: “I saw the tumbling, which I didn’t know was derived from Chinese dancing, because since in America, we have gymnastics and acrobatics here. So that was really different to know that I can pass on. But I mean, everyone was phenomenal. The way that they floated across the floor, it was like they were on air. Very, very beautiful.”
“I think it’s a good effort, because they’re going back to the roots of China. Like a lot of countries around the globe, China has strayed, and the roots of China that we’re seeing here today show that there’s hope for the current situation in China,” Mr. Malloy said.
Diana Hufstedler, a marketing executive, said: “It’s very sad to hear. I come from a country that used to be a communist regime, and I fully understand what it’s like to have your culture suppressed. So yes, definitely feel privileged to watch this tonight.”
Cole Whitney, a former telecommunications sales manager, said: “I think more business leaders need to understand that you’re dealing with an organization, or a [Chinese Communist Party] company that has presented a very good face in front of the world, to be the manufacturer of the world. But on the other side of it, there’s the human rights issues.”
Shen Yun has been touring the world since 2006, and has now grown to eight different companies. Theatergoers expressed their appreciation for the message of hope that Shen Yun brings to life on stage.
“Keep up the good work,” Mr. Whitney said. “You’re displaying an aspect of China that I think no one knows enough about. And I think the more you do this, the more appreciation people in the world will find that we have more in common than differences, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
“We appreciate you guys. We love this show. We love what you guys are doing with it,” said Ann Airington, an accounting executive.
