Elizabeth Yang, the mayor of Monterey Park, said, “That was a pretty amazing technology. When the Monkey King actually bounced out of the screen. We were gasping in shock, like how did that happen? So it was a little bit of magic.”
“Beautiful. I mean, they’re all perfectly in sync. And I love the water dance with the arms, and these women are just so beautiful. And the men are just the acrobats. It’s just, it’s amazing. I love it,” said Kathy Schaefer, a retired fire division chief for Brea, California. “What a pleasure it is to watch you [Shen Yun] and thank you for being so beautiful and so compassionate that you’ve just brought so much joy to my heart and my friends.”
Gabby Maldonado, a case manager for the Long Beach Courthouse, said, “I’ve never seen anything like it. The colors, the dances, I mean, the way they express themselves through music and dance. I really enjoyed that. I think that each story is very, very touching and heartfelt. I love the way they express themselves through dance and music.”
Emliano Chavira, a physician, said, “I really like the representation of Chinese folklore culture, and I love how the dance you can see elements of classical ballet plus classical Chinese dance, and then there’s a lot of acrobatics, and there’s comedy, and there’s magic. It’s really fun.”
“I really appreciate keeping the classical Chinese dance alive. So the classical women’s dance and men’s dance is probably my favorite,” said Michelle Ramelot, a retired ballerina with Ballet Pacifica. “It’s exquisite. The training is superb. All of the technique is just perfectly executed, beautiful movement, and so much emotion. It’s just unbelievable. Everybody needs to see it.”
Mayor Yang said, “I think in the current society, there’s a lot of conflict, a lot of differing opinions. So I hope that this compassion and kindness will let people respect each other, even if people have different opinions, but still come from love and compassion.”
In addition to myths and legends, Shen Yun also displays stories of modern-day courage in the face of persecution by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Schaefer said, “One of the reasons why I came here is because I want to support the people that have these beliefs and that they’re persecuted for it. So I love that they stood up for their belief and kept showing the banner, and even though they were being persecuted.”
Drawing inspiration from China’s rich cultural heritage, each performance presents themes of spirituality, faith, and kindness, values found at the origins of traditional Chinese culture.
Orlando Perez, a registered nurse, said, “I think the message will inspire a lot of people, because it touches what happened before versus what is happening now, into the culture. And I think it will bring some changes into society.”
Ms. Maldonado said, “I believe that that’s very important to have, whatever your higher power is. I think that’s something that everybody should have. Whatever your belief is. And I think it brings out a very peaceful and positive message so that the world could become better.”
“There’s so much spiritual energy in the movement and the story, and it’s something that I personally really love to see and witness,” said Ms. Ramelot. “It’s really evident in all of the dancers and the performers and the choreography, really embracing that emotion and spiritual energy, you can feel it come through in the production. You can see it in the movements and the dancers’ faces. So it’s just really a lovely experience.”
