Attorney Finds Shen Yun ‘Marvelous’

WATERBURY, Conn.—”It was marvelous. It was absolutely spectacular. I couldn’t have enjoyed it more than I did.” Those were the words attorney Steven Anderson used to describe Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The New York-based Shen Yun had its last of three performances at Waterbury, Conn.’s Palace Theater on Friday evening, wrapping up the evening with three curtain calls and a standing ovation.

With a core of classical Chinese dance, ethnic dance, and folk dance, the dance and music company’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture after it was nearly destroyed by China’s ruling Communist regime through campaigns such as the Cultural Revolution, according to its website.

“It was quite an insight into Chinese culture that stretches back for such a long time,” observed Mr. Anderson. “It was educational and entertaining at the same time.”

In a collection of short pieces, the audience traveled from the Himalayas to Mongolia, from legends of the culture’s creation more than 5,000 years ago to the story of meditation practice Falun Dafa in China today, and from the highest heavens to the dusty plateaus of what was known as the Middle Kingdom—China.

“It would be difficult to isolate one performance that stood out more than any other,” said Mr. Anderson. “They were just all so marvelous, just spectacular.”

In addition to the on-stage performance, the production is accompanied by an orchestra that melds Chinese and Western classical instruments, cutting-edge digital backdrops, and award-winning vocalists.

Mr. Anderson said he would recommend the show to others. “I would say [to them] ‘you can’t go wrong.’ I can’t remember time more well spent than this evening.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Zack Stieber

Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will next perform at The Merriam Theater, in Philadelphia from Jan. 6 to  Jan. 8.