JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Angela Peavy, an IT support specialist, had waited for 10 years for the opportunity to attend Shen Yun. On Jan. 30, her husband Erik Teel presented her with front-row tickets as a Christmas present.
Exiting the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts at the end of the evening, Ms. Peavy said the experience was “everything I hoped it would be.”
“The stories, the way they portrayed those without saying a word were incredible and powerful. I loved it so much,” she said with tears in her eyes. “It touched me more than I expected it to. It was just awesome.”
Ms. Peavy thought it was beautiful how the dancers integrated spiritual elements into their performance.
“The stories that were behind the dances, to know that some of them were true, made [the experience] more real. You hear about stories of what’s going on [in China.] Then, seeing it from the perspective of someone who has been through it—they couldn’t have done it any better,” she expressed.
“You get immersed in it. I was crying because I was so invested in the story. I didn’t expect it to hit me like that.”
Mr. Teel added that it was amazing how the artists communicated with the audience through “dance and music. It was combined in perfect synchronization.”
Endowed with 5,000 years of history, China was once known as the “Land of the Divine.” For millenniums, its people believed that by keeping their hearts pure and adhering to strict moral standards, they will be blessed by the divine.
“I’ve never heard of it. I didn’t even know that existed,” she exclaimed. “So, not only was it entertaining, I learned. That was incredible, I was wowed by [the musician’s] playing.”
More than anything, the couple is moved by the sense of hope that Shen Yun brings to its audiences. Mr. Teel said the show brought him a lot of personal inspiration.
“The music and the message, the performance, inspires hope. It inspires change. Maybe it’s the catalyst for a change for the better. It promotes more harmony in the world,” he expressed.
“My takeaway is hope, acceptance, love, tolerance, and peace.”
Ms. Peavy, too, thought these values are absolutely relevant in the current world and that they help to keep hope alive.
“We need more of that, every bit of it—not just in this theater, in this world—the entire message behind the show,” she said.
“Maybe not everybody in the world can see and experience [the performance] but it starts with a handful of people. Then, they can go out and spread the word to the rest, that’s how the message can be spread to everyone.”
