“This was an incredibly powerful performance. A cleansing experience for both my eyes and my soul," said Jiahui Zhang, a recent Chinese immigrant.
"Secondly, I felt the dancers had a very strong foundation in their craft. The costumes today were also quite vibrant, and together with the live orchestra, their coordination was flawless. It completely renewed my understanding of traditional Chinese culture," he said.
Meimei Lin, a Chinese immigrant, said Shen Yun was excellent. "This kind of wonderful music and dance can never be seen in China. Whether it’s the instruments or the dancers, they were all perfectly in sync,” she said.
“These dancers truly embody the saying 'one minute on stage takes 10 years of practice offstage'.” You can clearly see they’ve trained for a long time," said Zhongmin He, a Chinese Canadian. "Every person, every artistic movement was perfectly in sync. I think it was absolutely outstanding.”
Xinwei Zhang, a recent Chinese immigrant said “I feel that this performance was soul-stirring, truly excellent. From the overall music design, composition, to stage aesthetics, the entire stage presentation was amazing. I think that since 1949, China has no longer had [belief] in the Divine.”
Mr. Xinwei said, “After 1949, under the rule of Communist Party culture in China, this faith in the divine completely disappeared. Party culture was used to govern our country and this land, turning it into a society without faith and without belief in the divine."
5,000 Years of Chinese Culture
Shen Yun is based in New York and has a mission of reviving 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Currently, the company is banned from performing in China because its performance shines a light on the systematic destruction of culture and persecution of faith against the Chinese people.The Chinese-Canadian audience members said they wanted to see Shen Yun perform in their homeland.
Yan Huang, a Chinese Canadian, said, “I hope that one day Shen Yun’s magnificent performances can be seen in mainland China.”
Mr. Xinwei added, “I hope Shen Yun can lead our democratic society and universal values back to mainland China and bring about a revival—a revival of culture, a revival of the economy, and a revival of the entire Chinese people.”
“The sincerity, kindness, and tolerance of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are incredibly important for today’s mainland China," said Xiaomei Zhao, a Chinese Canadian.
"Right now, there is no sincerity, kindness, or tolerance at all there. There’s only collusion for personal gain. It is truly frightening for a nation or people to be without sincerity and kindness,” she said.
“What Shen Yun presents is all about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, all beautiful things. Unlike the Chinese Communist Party, which in the end is still mainly driven by material gain. Shen Yun spreads beauty and kindness," said Zhongmin He.
"But now, in my own homeland of China, even when an elderly person falls, no one helps them. Everyone is caught in conflicts of interest, there’s simply no kindness to speak of,” he said.
Xinhao Lin, a recent Chinese immigrant said “I hope that our fellow Chinese around the world can all learn what true Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are, and then pass on this spirit back to those inside the country, so that the situation in China can keep getting better.”
Ms. Li added, “I feel that this can’t be delayed for a single moment. If [Shen Yun] could return [to China] now, it should return now. This is truly something so beautiful, and I hope every Chinese person can see it. Once they see it, they will be uplifted. Once they see it, their pursuit of faith and goodness will be awakened. Every person’s soul will experience growth.”
