“I just cried, it was the most beautiful thing. And you feel the emotions, you feel the love, you feel the divinity. And I’m crying again,” said Donna Maria.
Jennifer Sullivan, a school psychologist, said, “In terms of impact, just joy, pure joy.”
Courtney Gessen, a speech language pathologist, said, “For 20 years in the subway, I’ve seen the advertisements for Shen Yun, and I said, 'One day I will see this show.' For 20 years, and here we are. Today’s the day I saw it, so thank you very much.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture from before communism, an idea that resonated with audience members.
“I think that’s an admirable goal, and I like to see it happen,” said Kevin Sullivan, a financial advisor. “I would like to see China get back to their ways before communism.”
Sunny Setton, a jewelry designer, said, “I think that’s beautiful. I think that traditional culture from all the different places in the world is a beautiful thing, and crushing culture is absolutely terrible. Living with the arts is what makes us human and what makes us civilized.”
Ms. Maria said, “The discipline that these dancers have, and the authenticity and the compassion, the forbearance, and the truthfulness, as you say, and the performance showed all of that and more.”
Ms. Sullivan said, “I love it. It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Yeah, the costumes, the artistry, the athleticism of the performers, is just wonderful.”
“What I found the most beautiful is the costumes. For me, the flowing fabrics, I found very beautiful,” Ms. Setton said.
“I absolutely loved the women with their sleeves, when they threw the sleeves out, and they were so long and gorgeous and beautiful, that was really, I think, my favorite part that I’ll always remember,” Ms. Gessen said.
“They’re just extraordinary. Yeah, they really are just tremendous. The athleticism ... is just beautiful. The synchronization is gorgeous. Everything about the show is beautiful,” Ms. Sullivan said.
Ms. Gessen said, “I was really inspired by the colors and the acrobatics, and the traditional Chinese dancing was really special and new. I’d never seen that before, and it was really beautiful. I really was mesmerized by the colorful way that the story was brought to life.”
Ms. Setton said, “It put me in a very good mood, and made me very happy. I was happy to share it with my children, and it’s going to carry me through the week. Thank you.”
“I’m definitely gonna tell everybody that I know they’ve got to come and see it,” Ms. Gessen said.
