(Minghui.org) Shen Yun Performing Arts' visual splendor was on display during four sold-out shows at the Au-Rene Theatre, Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 11-13, 2013.

VP Says Shen Yun An “Inside Look Into the Chinese Culture”

Felicia Castro (L) and Maria Santana (R) enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Au-Rene Theatre, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, in Fort Lauderdale. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Seeing Shen Yun was a lot more than just an entertaining afternoon for Felicia Castro, a vice president with Bank of America Merchant Services.

“It was like you were in your seats, but you were down there on the stage with them as they went through the entire performance,” said Ms. Castro, who watched the show on Saturday afternoon.

“It was really beautiful to watch.”

“I thought the colors were very vibrant, and it really gave you an inside look into the Chinese culture,” Ms. Castro said. “It took you through the entire 5,000 years.”

She enjoyed the show so much that she wants to watch the Shen Yun performers “wherever they are. Can’t wait for them to come back,” she said.

Ms. Castro’s mother-in-law, Maria Santana, bought tickets to the show as a birthday gift for Ms. Santana, whose birthday was on Friday.

Ms. Santana said the performance was very good, and the dancers were “very unreal—the things that they do.”

The spiritual aspect of the show really appealed to Ms. Santana, too. “Very spiritual, I like it very much,” she said.

Banker Says of Shen Yun “Very Wonderful, Very Beautiful!”

Regla Benitez said the Shen Yun performance exceeded her expectations and hopes to return to see it again with her daughter. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Regla Benitez, a banker, didn't know that she was in for such an aesthetic treat before seeing Shen Yun on Saturday afternoon.

“I never expected it to be this great! I mean, I thought it would be—I read the reviews that it was very nice, but it was more than I expected,” Ms. Benitez said.

“The costumes, the music, the dance, the flying—it’s different. Very, very wonderful. Very beautiful,” she exclaimed.

“It was wonderful. It was a very nice experience,” she said, adding that she hopes to bring her daughter to see the next showing of the performance.

Retired US Diplomat Says Shen Yun a “Wonderful Performance”

David R. Adams, retired U.S. diplomat, and Myra Adams, a writer and producer, enjoyed the beauty of Shen Yun and expanded their knowledge of China’s traditional culture. Shen Yun completed the last of four performances at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 13. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Also attending the show was David R. Adams, a retired diplomat who was with the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service. He was accompanied by Myra Adams.

“It was great. Wonderful performance!” he enthused.

He had initially thought Shen Yun was sponsored by the Chinese Communist regime until he read the program. “I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised,” he said.

Mr. Adams is currently the vice president of Cross International Catholic Outreach, which helps ministries that are protecting women under threat of forced abortion in China and also supports an orphanage for disabled children in China, among other humanitarian services.

Referring to a dance that depicts the Chinese regime’s ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, he said: “We are both very devout Christians, so we empathize with the persecution that Falun Gong is undergoing in China. We understand Christians are also persecuted, so we should show solidarity for freedom of religion in China.”

Mr. Adams said the performance helped expand their knowledge of China. “We knew something already. I’d read much about it. I’ve forgotten a lot, but I studied Chinese history.”

He said he saw a lot of commonality between traditional Chinese and Western spiritual beliefs, pointing out divine mercy, as an example.

“Beautiful Show, So Engaging”

“I like the multimedia, the incorporation of the video with the stage. Where they connected that, I thought it was really interesting,” said Myra Adams, a writer and producer.

Mr. Adams reminded her: “You liked the one where ... the girls were spinning around in the dresses.”

“Oh, yes! That was great,” Mrs. Adams said. She singled out the last scene several times, calling it great.

Overall, she thought the performance “was really good. I thought it was a really beautiful show, so engaging.”

Mr. and Mrs. Adams said they would definitely introduce Shen Yun to their friends and families.

Attorney Says He’d See Shen Yun Again

Barbara Pink and Bill Norkunas attend Shen Yun’s first Florida performance of its 2013 world tour. Mr. Norkunas, who had already seen Shen Yun, said he would see it again. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Also seated in the audience were Bill Norkunas, an attorney, and Barbara Pink.

“I saw it last year,” Mr. Norkunas said. “It was so special that I had to come back. I was in Boston two weeks ago, and they were advertising it at the kiosks. … It was the best advertisement because I … had seen it.”

He joked: “I am the best advertiser you have in Broward County!” He said he had come to town just to see Shen Yun again.

Ms. Pink thought the performance was “Wonderful!” and said it made her feel light and serene.

She called the colorful animated backdrops, “special.”

Mr. Norkunas said that the female dancers, “all have a nice look on their faces, and they’re so talented and athletic.”

“There’s a serenity that’s attached to [Shen Yun], that comes across. It’s calming. I would come again,” he said.

Ms. Pink replied, “I’ll tell you what, Bill, you can take me again! How’s that?”

Shen Yun Brings Cultural Treasures to Florida

Elaine Faber and Gary King at the first Florida performance of Shen Yun’s 2013 world tour. Ms. Faber described the performance as “visual splendor” and “very provocative.” (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times)

Gary King, vice president of finance at brokerage firm Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, and Elaine Faber, a design consultant, thoroughly enjoyed the Shen Yun performance.

“The show had beauty to the eye, visual splendor, augmented with digital effects,” Ms. Faber said.

Shen Yun’s state-of-the-art digital backdrops create animated settings that extend the stage and synchronize all aspects of the performance.

“It spoke of the amazing dynasties, art, dance, culture, enlightenment, and the provinces that are all different,” she said.

“It also made me sad because the regimes have wiped out the ability to express that beauty and that culture,” she said, speaking of the Chinese Communist regime that has all but eradicated China’s traditional culture during more than 60 years of despotic rule.

“And it’s not about Chinese take-out food. It’s about the sincerity [and] depth of a culture,” she said.

“I would say it was certainly an authentic representative of the various eras in Chinese life in dance form,” Mr. King said.

Ms. Faber said the production was “very provocative.”

Sources:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-an-inside-look-into-the-chinese-culture-vp-says-335389.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/very-wonderful-very-beautiful-banker-says-335379.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-a-wonderful-performance-says-retired-us-diplomat-335660.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/attorney-says-hed-see-shen-yun-again-335332.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-brings-cultural-treasure-to-florida-335165.html