Shen Yun Shows 'Divine Expression of Something That We All Need to Connect With': Company Co-founder

NTD Newsroom
Shen Yun
At the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, California, Shen Yun Performing Arts mesmerized theatergoers on March 26, taking them on a journey through 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture. Some audience members were full of a sense of hope after watching Shen Yun perform.
“To not have any bias and that we need to bring back righteous[ness], compassion, goodness, truthfulness, and that it's still there—there's still hope because we have Shen Yun and we have these beautiful dancers. It brings back hope and inspiration that we can have the beauty, we can have the tradition, and that we should look with less bias,” said Penelope Popken, a company co-founder.

“I thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I am truly touched inside my soul because the beauty of the divine, the beauty of the dancers ... the dancers just light up the stage with the beautiful colors, and it almost brought me to tears multiple times.”

Nancy Nazari, a business owner, said, “The wardrobe, the dancing, the choreography, the storytelling was captivating, but I also felt a sense of respect with all of the short stories in Chinese culture.”

“The music was beautiful. The dancing was gorgeous, the costumes were beautiful. I'm so glad I came,” said Sandy Jacobson, the owner of a film production company.

Traditional Chinese culture finds its roots in the divine, which Shen Yun showcases through classical dance and music. Theatergoers appreciated the opportunity to experience "China before Communism" and took note of a deeper message.

“I think the Chinese traditional values that really glowed from the show for me were honesty, trustworthiness, compassion, love for one another, and strength,” Nazari said.

“The current society—where everybody's ugly to each other and there's a lot of violence, and people want what they want and and don't want you to have what you want—we need to be kinder to each other all the time,” said John Jacobson, a bank risk manager.

“Thank you so much for your hard work and for your divine expression of something that we all need to connect with every day, and it's just such a great reminder that access to it is available to us, and so I just thank you for the inspiration,” said Helene Leeds, a company co-founder.

Shen Yun will be performing at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine, on April 1.
NTD News, Thousand Oaks, California

NTD is a media sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts, covering audience reactions since 2006.