Martin Banias, a sales manager, said, “I’m quite pleased, I would say. Um, I didn’t think, I didn’t know what to think about it at the beginning, but as I mentioned, I was very surprised. Mostly I like the variety of dances and also, the mythology that was involved within the dances. So in conclusion, I liked it quite a lot.”
Mr. Banias added that “I think the message of peace will be the main idea I [got]. Oriental mythology or politics or myths always struck me as peaceful, and it was felt here as well.”
“All those dances are really interesting in the way they’re presented, and how they convey the message. I liked the idea that a person’s outer strength comes from their inner strength, or from their inner calm. That idea was really good, and I think it’s nice. It’s executed quite well overall,” said Jarda Louženský, a company manager.
“Overall, I’ve always liked China in the sense that Confucianism, or rather the belief in education, was the main [focus]. And I’m sorry that their communist regime is holding them back a bit. It doesn’t allow them to practice their faith freely at all,” said Mr. Louženský.
Evgen Sadikov, a psychiatrist, said, “It’s a beautiful culture, and Chinese culture is rich, and it’s really nice to see that it’s being preserved. It is something other nations could adopt, preserving their own culture and showing it to others. That way, they would enrich the rest of the world as well.”
“So it’s always sad when someone who is trying to represent a country or a culture is unable to do so for political, ethnic, or any other reasons,” said Martin Pernica. “And with the Shen Yun troupe, you could see that they truly believe in what they’re performing.”
Shen Yun has been touring the world since 2006 and brings an all-new performance each year.
“Thank you for [the] performance, for [the] patience, and for their wonderful performances,” said Mr. Louženský.
Mr. Pernica said, “Well, speaking as a cultural barbarian, I can only say that I don’t think we could have chosen a better performance than this one. I was truly incredibly excited by what I saw and experienced here.”
