“It's a fantastic performance. I'm very glad that I'm able to visit Shen Yun finally. So I've heard a lot of good things about the performance, and now I've experienced it with my senior staff, and we're very grateful, definitely,” Sen. Chan said.
“I wanted to acknowledge the work that Shen Yun has done over the years to bring together our people and culture. I always promote togetherness among our Chinese community, and that's what I'm here to do now. I want to congratulate Shen Yun with a proclamation from my office.”
Sen. Chan said, “My ancestors are, of course, from China. I'm very proud to be Chinese, and I'm glad that we're able to try to revive some of the traditional Chinese culture—it's fantastic. A lot of stuff was lost during the revolution and in the last 100 years. I'm glad that we're able to bring back a part of it.”
David Hahn, a budget analyst with the State of New York, said, “It's fascinating to me that this is showing a culture that has been around for so long, and it's just been stopped—been pushed down by the current regime.”
Mr. Hahn added, “What the communists do ... they erase the past in the history and the culture. And I think this is what's beautiful about the show.”
Janine Acquafredda, the legislative director for Sen. Chan, said, “I loved it. I thought it was a great storytelling, artistic representation of not only the arts but of the culture of China. I found it fascinating.”
Theatergoers were also inspired by the beauty and artistry of Shen Yun.
“It was breathtaking. Just the choreography, the outfits, the colors, just everything aligned in the one with the orchestra, it was just breathtaking,” Julianna Kent, executive assistant for Sen. Chan, said.
“I like the Mongolian dance. It was powerful but elegant and artistic. And that particular piece really moved me,” Ms. Acquafredda added. “I don't know anything about the Chinese culture, so I really went in just with no expectations, and I'm leaving thoroughly impressed. I think it's beautiful.”
