SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—Audience members in San Francisco appreciated Shen Yun conveying the divine aspect of traditional Chinese culture.
“I think music is one of the first ways people connect with the divine. So it allows people to reach out and connect in different ways,” said Darrell Griffin Jr., attorney and founder at Griffin Law. “You don’t have to be able to speak somebody’s language to be able to understand music and appreciate it.”
“The singing, the baritone,” Mr. Griffin added about the words the singer Peng Huang sang, “I liked the whole theology behind it.”
“Everybody’s divine, that they ‘come down.’ There’s combinations of original sin. So just how so many different cultures come to the same idea of … beginnings and returns.”
Bill Schaffer, owner of the Finishing Lab, said he didn’t know what to expect from Shen Yun, but it was “very well put together.”
“And just the colors and everything were just so vibrant,” Mr. Schaffer said. “And the orchestra, also unexpected, because I just didn’t expect the big orchestra and all of the colors and the video screen. Everything was so cool.”
Under China’s communist regime, the ancient culture was nearly lost. Shen Yun also depicts the regime’s persecution of those with spiritual beliefs, with the show currently unable to perform in Mainland China as a result.
“It’s crazy to think that you can’t see things like this just anywhere. You should be able to see things like this anywhere, especially with the culture so strong,” said Mr. Schaffer. “It’s kind of a shame that they [the Chinese people] can’t experience this. But I’m sure glad that I can experience it. So it was wonderful.”
Cameron Wessel, global director of customer adoption at MuleSoft said he was “lucky” to be able to see the performance.
“I like the different philosophies and the different meditative, sort of, philosophy,” he said. “I have been to China. It’s a beautiful country. I do enjoy it a lot. But these performances are special, so I’m appreciative.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture through dance and music. It has eight equally large companies touring the world simultaneously.
“A little bit of peace, a little bit of happiness, a little bit of pleasure. I would say it’s very, very easy to watch, and it’s very, very meditative at some of the sub-levels as well,” said Mr. Wessel.
“I think that there are people that can access excellence through focus,” said Dave Menshew, a professor. “And I think that that’s a lot of what you see here. From the musicians to the speakers to the performers on the stage, there’s that focus and that dedication to their ideals.”
“There’re a lot of uninspired people living through the pandemic and all the things we’ve seen over the last few years, and I think that they need inspiration, and I think that this provides that,” said Mr. Menshew.
“I think people need to understand that there’s a history,” said his wife Sharon. “There’s such a rich history, and we can learn so much from the stories, and the dance brings it across. You don’t need to speak the language. You see it in dance. You see it in the stories, and I think that is so important for today.”
NTD News, San Francisco
