HOUSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts delighted a matinee audience at Jones Performing Arts Hall on December 29th. Casey Olson, Occidental Petroleum’s Gulf of Mexico data advisor and Montgomery City Council member, particularly enjoyed the folk dances.
“I really enjoyed the folk dance. It’s very nice. The colors are great. It’s more vibrant than traditional ballet, which I like. The cultural background is very nice. Chinese culture is very popular here. “You don’t see that a lot,” he says.
Shen Yun is one of the world’s leading classical Chinese dance and music troupes. The New York-based artists are dedicated to reviving China’s 5,000-year-old divinely inspired culture.
Mr. Olson was satisfied with Shen Yun’s introduction to traditional Chinese culture. “I really like the fact that they want to share their culture, and they just want to know what’s going on,” he said. “If we don’t keep dance groups like this going, there’s a good chance they’ll disappear. There’s a good chance they’ll disappear.”
Olson said he had just heard from Shen Yun about the suppression of Falun Gong spiritual practice in China. “As I said, I don’t know much about Chinese culture. …Obviously, you hear about communism, but you don’t get to see the oppression that’s actually happening.”
Millions of people in China practice Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice based on the principles of truth, compassion, and patience. This practice is persecuted in China today, and Shen Yun is banned from performing there.
Olson said he was not aware of the extent of the persecution currently occurring in China. “I knew there was religious persecution, but I didn’t know the extent of the persecution, the imprisonment, the torture, etc. If you don’t know, you don’t know, so if they bring it to your attention, you don’t know. “I’m very happy to be back,” he said.
Small business owners learn about persecution in China
Darryl Ruddle, a small business owner, really enjoyed Shen Yun’s performance, especially the story. “I think the music was great and the dancing was great. The costumes were really good. The stories that they have, the different stories, are great and I think they (reveal) little things that we don’t know about. ” he said.
He was very moved by the men’s dancing. “I thought they did a really great job. I loved their costumes. Apparently they were on target perfectly. I loved it all.”
Ruddle particularly enjoyed the final dance before intermission. “I especially liked the last song they did. (The Tibetan dance) was really amazing.”
Shen Yun’s animated backgrounds were patented, and Ruddle thought they added a “great touch” to the production. He said he had never seen a set like this before.
Presenting a brand new series of dance pieces, songs and solo performances each season, the company takes audiences on a journey through time and space to rediscover the beauty and traditional values of pre-communist China. I’ll take you there.
“I think the way they expressed it in the different scenes that they created here is amazing. I think they did a great job with that. It’s very educational for those of us who don’t know the culture,” Ruddle said. .
Persecution in China continues. “I knew of some groups, like the Uyghurs, who continue to be persecuted there. But I know that different ethnicities are persecuted in China,” Ruddle said.
Shen Yun is spreading awareness of this persecution around the world. “I think that’s very important. I think the more you know about other cultures, the better. And it’s important that people understand Chinese culture.
Report by Frank Liang and Yvonne Marcotte.
Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have been tracking audience reactions since Shen Yun was founded in 2006.
