NEW YORK—Theatergoers spoke of hope after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts at Lincoln Center on March 25, opening night of an 18-show run in New York City.
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world's premier classical Chinese dance company, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary with a tour that spans nearly 200 cities across five continents.
With a mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization and a tagline of "China before communism," audiences were treated to myriad vignettes featuring legendary sages, the fashionable Qing dynasty court, mythical battles, and even emperors in disguise.
Chemist Matthew Giraud happened upon Shen Yun by chance the same day, visiting from Switzerland on business as the director of an international pharmaceutical company.
"I didn't know about the show before, so I just came [with] fresh eyes," said Mr. Giraud, who found the vision of Chinese culture Shen Yun presented a positive one that "gives you a lot of hope."
In addition to being credited with the revival of classical Chinese dance, Shen Yun is famous for its patented stagecraft technology—a digital backdrop that audiences say transports them through time and space—and incorporates several unique production elements.
Mr. Giraud lauded the way the elements of the performance came together, from the orchestra performing original compositions blending East and West, to the colorful couture costuming, and the emcees that led the audience through five millennia with wit and poetry.
He felt the artists themselves, and their level of excellence, also inspired and encouraged.
"You see the level for all the dancers, what they can achieve. It's unbelievable, unbelievable," he said. "We all try to try to be better and better, but when you see what they achieve here, ... it's energy to even further improve."
He added, "You feel this energy" that gives viewers motivation for the future and a mindset to "be more positive."
"The overall geopolitics is very stressful these days, and when you come out of this show, you kind of forget everything. It's something positive. The contrast is very significant, I think," he said.
Mr. Giraud said he learned during the performance that although Shen Yun's mission is to revive authentic Chinese culture, Shen Yun can't perform in China today under the communist regime.
"And my hope will be that someday this show will be in China. That would be fantastic," he said.
'The Whole Thing Is Special'
Bestselling author James Lindsay said Shen Yun was an excellent production with an important message."The whole thing is special. It's an amazing show. It's an amazing story to see China before communism depicted in dance ... and then to see how the CCP has stepped in and caused a problem. And then, this message of resounding hope at the end that there's change available," Mr. Lindsay said.
As a practitioner of Chinese martial arts, Mr. Lindsay said he was already familiar with how the CCP "destroyed so much" and "ruined what was beautiful" about the ancient culture, and seeing Shen Yun bring it to life was "just a very inspiring story."
"To see it portrayed so vividly and interactively was a very powerful, emotional experience," he said. "This is a world-class production."
Mr. Wu, originally from Hong Kong, said he has seen Shen Yun many times, and saw in the performing arts company a hope for a "spiritual renewal" of Chinese culture.
"What they are aiming to do now is to bring about a restoration of that Chinese culture—China’s divinely inspired culture—the culture that rightfully belongs to China," Mr. Wu said. "Its greatness lies in its divine culture—in the fact that there are deities watching over and protecting you. Without divine protection, how could you possibly hope to prevail against the Devil?"
He expressed immense gratitude to the artistic director of Shen Yun, who he felt had made a significant contribution to history.
"We have re-immersed ourselves in Chinese culture," he said.
Brendan O'Connor, an oral surgeon, said his takeaway from the performance was "hope."
"The people have endured an amazing history and survived their history, and enriched our history," he said. "The message is, there is always hope. Always look for the good in everyone."
