NEW YORK—On the evening of April 3, Nadine Homann, an award-winning architect, and Tarun Mehta, a professional in banking, enjoyed Shen Yun’s opening performance at the Lincoln Center.
The couple waited many years before finally deciding to purchase tickets as a part of their date night.
“Incredible. The long sleeves, the heavenly sleeves, the graceful sleeves,” Mr. Mehta exclaimed as he exited the theater.
“Incredible. It’s mind-blowing. It’s really so beautiful. Why didn’t we do this earlier?”
Ms. Homann, too, enjoyed the piece where the dancers’ long sleeves billowed and flowed like the gentle movement of water on stage. She thought it was “so elegant and just really heavenly.”
According to the company’s website, these sleeves were a part of ancient Chinese feminine attire representing humility and grace.
Shen Yun was established in 2006 by leading Chinese artists who had fled the persecution of China’s communist regime. Based in New York, the company’s mission is to revive China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture that had been destroyed by decades of communist rule.
Mr. Mehta was awed by the beauty and richness of traditional Chinese culture.
“The fact that it’s 5,000 years of culture and you’re bringing it all together. It’s maybe lost in the country but it’s here and [we] get to see it—I can’t believe it’s such an opportunity.”
However, due to Shen Yun’s commitment to portraying the truth of events under communist rule in contemporary Chinese society, the show is currently banned from performing in China.
It’s “very emotional” to think that “your own culture can’t be performed in your own country,” Ms. Homann stated.
“We’re very fortunate to have [Shen Yun] here in New York but we would, of course, wish that their talent could be shown in their own country as well.”
Referring to Shen Yun’s story-dance raising awareness for ongoing human rights issues in China, Mr. Mehta said, “It’s good to see [someone] put the truth out there.”
“It’s art and culture and the whole world will love it. For any person, government, or anyone to try to stop that benefit for humankind—it’s not right. It’s unstoppable, so let it happen. You can’t stop 5,000 years of history and culture,” he explained.
“[Shen Yun showed] amazing dedication. I’m sure the amount of practice required is great and they’re doing it for us and to keep the culture going. I can’t thank them enough.”
Reporting by Yeawen Hung and Jennifer Tseng.
From The Epoch Times
