ST. PAUL, Minn.—The Ordway Center in St. Paul Minnesota hosted the Shen Yun Performing Arts Global company on Feb. 14 to Feb. 17. Those in attendance were won over by the rich history and culture delivered through heartfelt music and colorful dance.
“I thought it was pretty spectacular,” said John Williams, a human resources manager at a large healthcare company. “It was a lot of… to go through the entire history of China in a very short period of time was pretty impressive.”
“I thought there was a lot of strength, and a lot of history and a lot of pride in what they showed tonight,” said Williams. “And I think it came through not just in the choreography but in the music. I think even just the attire of the performances, it was very poignant.”
The skill level of the performers left a lasting impression.
“The precision of everything, the fact that they were all in sync all the time and super expressive without saying anything, telling a story was very fun to watch,” he said.
“It was dead on, I don’t think they made a mistake all night,” said Williams. “At least from an audience’s perspective, I don’t think they were out of tune once.”
Diverse Culture Representation
The fusion of ancient Chinese instruments and classical western instruments in the live orchestra, combined with classical Chinese dance had a positive effect on the audience.
“You know the dance was just amazing,” said Brian Gager, a health care executive at Fairview Health Services. “Just to see a lot of the different culture representations, but very, very positive. And the music was really neat to hear, more of kind of an eastern and western blend.”
“A lot of the messaging as the narrators are discussing how a lot of the stories can’t be displayed in China, but it’s really the resiliency of that and the perseverance just is a relaxing mood,” said Gager.
Various messages were perceived by the audience members, but admiration, respect, and support for Shen Yun’s mission to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture was a common reaction.
“The dance and the movement, and the different things that go with it and the music, and the combining of it,” said Dan Reese, Vice President Operations at Waterous.”And then the theatrics of course. That makes it very pleasing and keeps you engaged.”
Remembering Roots
“Absolutely amazing,” said James Schuenke, a sales marketing manager at Petsche Consulting. “The acrobatics and the dramatic part of it the theater about it was just amazing. [I] enjoyed it very much.”
“They have perfected it, they did an awesome job in executing it,” said Schuenke. “Just a great job.”
Schuenke said he felt Shen Yun’s mission is very important, both relationally and culturally.
“I think the message is don’t forget who you are, and embrace that,” he said. “And encourage that, and be who you are.”
NTD News, St. Paul, Minnesota
