Music Educator Praises Shen Yun’s Phenomenal Musical and Artistic Integration

NTD Newsroom
Shen Yun
Shen Yun Performing Arts performed at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts, Mahaffey Theater, in St. Petersburg, Florida, from Feb. 6 to Feb. 8. Audience members were amazed by the performance's artistry.

“Phenomenal,” said Kim Tice, a music teacher. “The music here is in the connection between the videography and the animation and the dancing, and I mean, I appreciate all the arts and support many areas of the arts. So to see this all put together in a very, very unique way is just fabulous.”

“I’m walking on air, I can’t get enough words out,” said Bob Swick, a charity foundation founder. “The beauty, the whole choreography, it is just so beautiful. I loved this performance. I’ve been wanting to come here for many years, and this just was absolutely beautiful.”

Sondra Middlebrooks, a business coach, said, “I loved every second of it. The colors were so impressive, and they just grabbed you and brought you into the production.”

Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture from before communism, through classical Chinese dance and music. Shen Yun’s orchestra also features a unique combination of classical Western and Eastern instruments.

Ms. Middlebrooks said, “The music was wonderful. I would have loved to have watched the orchestra perform. It was very cool.”

Daniel Middlebrooks, a retired U.S. Army chaplain, said, “I’m glad that we were able to recognize the musicians and what they do. They provided a foundation to which the movements of the dancers could stand upon. It was incredible.”

Each performance also features themes of spirituality and kindness, values found at the origin of traditional Chinese culture, which resonated with many audience members.

Mr. Swick said, “I just saw so much beauty. There is so much love of God and love of good over evil. The message to me was so superb, and the beauty of the presentation of the message was magnificent.”

Mr. Middlebrooks said, “When you’re able to step back into the past and see the beauty of the colors, that allows it to be a multi-faceted, beautiful picture. In the end, I’d much rather live in the life of living color, rather than just black and white. This was a great reminder of just that.”

“As an artist, I can feel a great connection with all the beauty they display,” said Leon Zaldan, a painter. “The fact that the show is actually demonstrating how beautiful the classic is, all the spiritual connected with the real world.”

Shen Yun will be in Providence, Rhode Island, from Feb. 14 to Feb. 15.
NTD News, St. Petersburg, Florida

NTD is a media sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts, covering audience reactions since 2006.