In Cheyenne, Wyoming, Shen Yun Performing Arts drew audience members from other cities. Many drove an hour and a half from the Denver, Colorado, area on icy roads after a winter storm to see it, and they said the trip was worth it.
“You cannot make up a presence, you cannot make up an atmosphere, you cannot pretend to have heart behind something unless there really is heart behind it,” said Charlene Baktamarian, producer and host for Gods View TV Shows.
“From the moment that the curtain went up, there was just a capture of the hearts of the people and the audience. Because there was such a presence on it, that just permeated the room. And people were silent,” she said. “I know many times I want to stand up, go, ‘Yay, woohoo!’”
“I think I said ‘wow’ about a dozen times. The acrobatics, the flexibility, and the strength,” said Lorrell Walter, a marketing executive at Western Vista Credit Union.
Her high school daughter, Loriana Walter, is a ballet dancer with the San Diego Ballet and performed the Nutcracker this year. She said she can’t imagine how many hours Shen Yun performers train. “The costuming really stuck out to me,” she said. “With the lighting and all the different colors with the costumes, it brightened up the stage a lot and it was a really pretty view.”
“You know that there’s hours of practice that’s going on behind the scenes, but it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be flawless, and it was flawless, or at least it was to me,” Lorrell Walter said. “I loved the introduction of the Western music and the Eastern music and the combination of the two. The humor that was used to do that was really entertaining and I was just so pleased.”
In two hours, Shen Yun showcases 5,000 years of ancient Chinese civilization. They accomplish this by portraying different legends, dynasties, and regions—much of which is inspired by the heavens.
“I think I was moved most by the idea that there is a part of this Chinese culture that is being suppressed in China. That was very sad to me,” said Matthew Martinez, a physician. “So it makes it mean even more that I get a chance to see it here and I feel bad for people who—this is really their culture, their heritage, and they miss out on it.”
Under the communist regime, much of the genuine culture was nearly lost. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive it by touring around the world. The performance cannot be seen in China today.
“It’s really outstanding … and it’s cool that you’re showing the side of the communist government that most of us probably don’t think about and realize,” said Skip Thompson, a retired Army officer.
“In this last year and a half with the pandemic and all of the things, people needed, and all I could say is this color. They needed this life, they needed something like this to be presented,” Baktamarian said. “And just to bring them laughter, just to bring them joy … I know everybody left today with just a newness, just kind of a newness of life.”
Shen Yun had two performances in Cheyenne. They will perform in Cleveland, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, next.
NTD News, Cheyenne, Wyoming
