(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts performed to a packed house in its second of two shows at Ft. Lauderdale's Broward Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday evening. The audience enthusiastically responded with calls of "Bravo!" amidst the long, loud applause throughout the theater.
Artist Linda Jarnigan
Linda Jarnigan, an artist, came to the show with her husband. The show was her birthday gift. Ms. Jarnigan said she saw the advertisement for Shen Yun in a newspaper, then immediately called her husband and said, "We have to go do this."
After the show, she said, "We really loved it. It was absolutely fantastic. It was amazing! Instead of feeling a year older, I feel younger-if that's possible."
She was very impressed by the performances, and said, "...it seemed like a big bouquet of flowers that just slowly opened up. In the first show a few of them opened, and then by the end a whole bouquet was opened up. It really was [like that]."
Shen Yun includes solo singers and musicians as well as a live orchestra that combines classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments.
Ms. Jarnigan was delighted by the orchestra. "It was very good the way they had the Western music mixed with the traditional Chinese instruments--that was really good. That was amazing... very different. I've never heard anything like that, the two put together," she reflected.
She added, "It was just gorgeous, very exciting. We really enjoyed ourselves. I probably will have a hard time getting to sleep [tonight]."
Two performances which depict the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China touched Ms. Jarnigan.
"I have to say, the most moving part was the sadness you felt about [Falun] Dafa. That was really moving and that was something I wasn't aware of ... that breaks your heart that a government can stop people from practicing their faiths--it is wrong. And I think that message does need to come out, but I think [it's] a wonderful way to open people's eyes. People who are supposed to have their eyes open will see and they'll understand and try to make a difference. So that's why this was beautiful, yet very important, very current, and very good."
"I think the spiritual message was that how even though all people are so ... all of us have our own different faiths and religions, we really do have more in common than we have separate. And I think this showed the harmony of what life is all about and how we should all strive more to love, to understand, and to respect everyone's faith and religion."
"And people should all have the freedom to celebrate those faiths, but just that when you think about, you know, China, it all comes down [to] not only their faiths, but they tell their stories ... in dance and music. And what a beautiful way to express, your beliefs. I think that's what I came away with, just the beauty of the Chinese people and the Chinese story. It was very moving for me. I really loved it," she said.
Ms. Jarnigan expressed her sadness mixed with a touch of disbelief upon learning that the government of Hong Kong recently denied entry to Shen Yun technicians, which caused the sold-out shows in Hong Kong to be canceled.
"The fact that they [the people of Hong Kong] are denied to see this is just sad. ... I think they [the Hong Kong government] should apologize, and I think they should take a look at what this is and they should realize that this is something the world is embracing. Why aren't they embracing it? I think they need to take a second look," she said.
Musician and Family: So Beautiful
Mr. Rodolfo Gramcko, a pianist who also plays the organ and teaches music, was in the audience warmly welcoming Shen Yun to Ft. Lauderdale, along with members of his family Grace, Angelique, and Kaye. He was so impressed with the show that he hopes to bring an Indonesian friend of Chinese decent to the St. Petersburg show on January 29.
Rodolfo Gramcko Ali and at the Broward Center for Performing Arts
There were, "a lot of things that moved my heart," he said.
"I love it. It was wonderful, emotional, and inspiring all throughout. Not only the music, I mean the message, the dancing, everything that has been conveyed with colors and the inner spirit ... really touched my heart," he said.
Mr. Gramcko was profoundly impressed by the sincerity and depth of the show. "All the scenes have a connection--one after the other. Color-wise, theme-wise, everything was connected. ... I feel a lot of things, but I see the beauty, I see the honesty. There are so many things that are impossible to express with words. It was all perfectly balanced."
Mr. Gramcko felt that Shen Yun was also sending a message of truth, "...a truth that moves the spirit of the people, seeing that there is a plan, there is a salvation, there is another truth that has been blocking the real thing." He said he was so glad that Shen Yun has spoken out this way, and that it really moved him.
The Shen Yun Orchestra, with its combination of classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments, provides the original music that accompanies each performance and results in a very unique sound, which audiences find very pleasing to the ear. Mr. Gramcko was no exception.
"The orchestra--that was very well-balanced. It was amazingly balanced even with the bass. They were synchronized. Everything was at a highlight," he said.
Mr. Gramcko also commented on the erhu, a traditional two-stringed Chinese instrument with very rich sounds.
"It's a wonderful thing. I've been touched. The stringed instrument, the erhu--it really moved everything inside me because you can do so much with so little. It's just simple, but so beautiful."
In conclusion Mr. Gramcko said, "I loved it very much, very, very much. I was very moved by it. The thing that struck me is the fact that it isn't just entertainment. It's beautiful entertainment, but it carries a very, very strong message and that was a huge surprise.
"I expected to see traditional Chinese dancing, which I love--Chinese music and dancing--but it was a real surprise that it carried such a very strong message, and I would encourage people to be very open to that message."
Kaye joined into the conversation, "It was a beautiful, beautiful show. I loved it very much. People were very talented. ... Beautiful, beautiful dancing! It was encouraging and inspiring ... the whole performance.
"And I think in the way that people shared their faith--I think that's a message perhaps to people of all faiths who are under persecution ... who are persecuted just for what they believe," Kaye said, referring to the programs that portray the persecution of Falun Gong in China under the communist regime.
"I'm sure that will be a great encouragement to ... people all over the world, of all faiths. And just a beautiful, beautiful show, I just loved the show so much."
Grace also marveled at the show and said that it was beautiful.
"It was really graceful and delicate," she said.
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Category: Shen Yun Performing Arts
