Courtney Perkins, a photographer, said, “It was absolutely wonderful. I’ve never seen anything like it. Just incredible. The music, the colors, the texture, the movement just had me speechless.”
Matthew Picarelli, a videographer, said, “So for them to perform how they are, I’ve only seen that in TV and film, or content that’s out there. I’ve never actually seen it one-on-one like that, to actually see it live like that. It’s surreal, honestly, surreal.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture from before communism, through classical Chinese dance and music.
Chantelle Mnayarji, a commercial banker, said, “It’s been really eye-opening to see all of the different struggles that the Chinese people have been going through and things that we weren’t really taught, and to see them all done very beautifully and very emotionally.”
Ms. Mnayarji added that “Even if you know nothing about China or Chinese history, it’s nice to come in here with a blank slate and just get a fresh perspective of what China is.”
“The soprano singing, [what] she was doing during that performance, I was getting emotional just listening to her. You can hear the emotion in her voice,” said Mr. Picarelli. “I’d have to say the music moved me the most. I just got lost in it. It was almost like I forgot there was a whole orchestra underneath. That synchronicity with the performance and the orchestra was just spot on for me. All the little subtle movements that went with the music were incredible. You have to just see it live.”
Ms. Perkins said, “I loved it. Again, I’ve never seen anything like it. The storytelling and how each scene, each part was so different, but they were all cohesive. It was very moving.”
Mr. Picarelli said, “The director of this, you have a gift, you are incredible. I think what you are portraying, the story of all these years, of five thousand years, it’s captivated in this.”
“I think that coming to Shen Yun would be a really good eye-opening experience for everybody,” said Ms. Mnayarji.
Ms Perkins said, “I just really appreciate all of their hard work. It was something I’ll never forget, and I would love to see it again.”
