Audience members described the depth of the performance after watching Shen Yun in San Jose, California.
“It’s interesting to see the different regions of China and the different dances that are done in those regions. So, it’s been very enlightening,” said Greg Gaches, CEO of Cable Connection Inc.
“Connected to the dance, connected to the culture, connected to religion, and it kind of all goes together,” said Gaches.
“Oh, I just love it. There isn’t any production of anything anywhere that I have ever seen that remotely comes close to this,” said Jan Telesky, Opera San Jose Board Trustee and founder of Telesky Financial Services.
Telesky has seen Shen Yun every year, making this year her twelfth time watching the performance.
“The choreography, the symmetry of the dancers. Some of them look like they are suspended over the stage,” said Telesky. “The way the projection works to bring people alive or take them away, nobody does that. It’s great!”
“You can feel the emotion of the story behind the dancing, whether it’s something comical that makes you laugh, or whether it makes you sad or angry, or happy, it’s all there,” she said.
“I love that there is so much variety—there’s acrobatics, there’s dancing, there’s acting, there’s singing, there’s cinematography, there’s creativity,” said Angelo Segretto, marketing manager at Mike Counsil Plumbing & Rooter.
Segretto saw Shen Yun before, and after talking about it a lot this year, his wife surprised him with tickets and they watched the performance together with their son.
Shen Yun, which means “the beauty of divine beings dancing” in Chinese, according to its website, seeks to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through music and dance. Founded in 2006 by artists in exile, the company was established to present traditional Chinese arts, free of censorship from the Chinese regime.
“There’s so much about this show that leaves you such a great feeling. I mean the spirituality about the show that when you walk out, you feel like all the worries have left you, it’s kind of like you’re in a place where you feel like there’s more to life than just working,” said Segretto.
“That’s our trajectory of our soul back towards the Creator,” said Easan Katir, California Advocacy Director at the Hindu American Foundation.
He also attended a performance with his family.
“One important message for all of mankind, I think is that we can work together with the divine worlds. The human worlds and the divine worlds can integrate and work together, which I would say the great meaning of faith and religion,” said Katir.
Katir added that it’s important to have a greater purpose in life.
“Otherwise they’re drifting in life or they have goals that are much smaller or more selfish and that creates friction and depression in the world. With goals like this, it gives us hope,” said Katir.
Meanwhile, Segretto said he thinks that the Shen Yun performance can be uplifting to those who watch it, and leave them feeling hopeful.
“I think if they come to a show like this and they’re feeling down or they have questions about themselves, I think they’d walk away with a renewed spirit knowing that there is a better way and there’s a better life,” said Segretto.
