(Clearwisdom.net) BUFFALO, New York--Shen Yun Performing Arts left Valerie Walawender, an artist and social advocate, overwhelmed on Thursday night, May 27, 2010, after she attended the classical Chinese dance and music presentation at Shea's Performing Arts Center.
"The dance is phenomenal--beyond comprehension," she said, adding that she was quite taken by the music and the costumes as well.
Mrs. Walawender saw the show with her husband Dan, an accountant. They said they both loved it.
"I'm enjoying it very much. The costumes, the dance, how everything is in rhythm. It's just phenomenal," said Mr. Walawender.
Mrs. Walawender said she was particularly impressed by the dance "Nothing Can Block the Divine Path," one of two performances that deal with modern China. The dance tells the story of a mother and daughter who are arrested by the police for practicing Falun Dafa exercises in a park in China. Thrown into a detention center, the mother loses her life trying to protect her daughter, yet the dance shows that beings in heaven are watching.
"I liked that [dance] very much. The dark side and the light side and going off into the divine path. It was very intriguing. It was a very different piece. It started kind of light, and all of a sudden these bad guys come out. I was intrigued by that, and it was just very lovely the way it came together, and I loved the Buddhas [that] came down."
She took note of the wide variety of people that came out to see the show.
"Look at all the different people that are here in the audience--at the very rich mix of people. There's people I noticed from India, and Latin Americans, and I noticed a Muslim woman. A very interesting mix of people wanting to share this experience."
Besides working as an artist, Mrs. Walawender is the president of a company which conducts diversity, sensitivity and violence prevention workshops for business organizations.
"I enjoyed the show immensely," Says Buffalo City Comptroller
"I enjoyed the show immensely," said Mr. SanFilippo. "The synchronization of the dancers, the choreography, the athleticism--it was superb." His wife agreed. "It was beautiful. I loved the stories," said Mrs. SanFilippo.
Shen Yun Performing Arts draws inspiration from China's rich 5,000-year history. Many of its dances bring the myths and legends of ancient China to life on the stage, as well as the spiritual essence of traditional Chinese culture.
"I think it was an introduction to another dimension of Chinese culture that we here in America don't always get to see," said Mr. SanFilippo.
Mr. SanFilippo was elected to Comptroller in 2004 and re-elected unopposed in 2007. Outside of his work in public office, he also sits as a director or board member on several community, civic and government financial organizations.
"We only hear the communist China aspect of what we know about China. We don't know about the culture, we don't know about the people, we don't know about the history, we don't know about the beauty of China. We know about the wall and tremendous gymnastics, tremendous athletes. I think what you saw there from an artistic standpoint--the talent of the cast--it was very very enlightening and impressive."
"It was inspirational in true culture to espouse the other elements of the Chinese culture, and I think they did it in a very effective way." "The dances were all different too," said Mrs. SanFilippo, adding that she was mystified by how the dancers could memorize so many dances of such intricacy.
"They must have practiced forever. And it was beautiful, it was just beautiful." The couple said they enjoyed that the show had deeper elements to it as well and took a lot from the themes presented in the performances. "I think the message is 'Be true to yourself,'"said Mrs. SanFilippo.
"Be true to yourself and your principles. Stay true to your principles and ultimately you will achieve your goal," added her husband.
Besides dealing with historical China, Shen Yun also touches on contemporary issues with two dances set in modern day China. "There was culture, there was the singing, the choreography, the instrumentation, and then the hammer and sickle. I like the way they blended in the message in between the arts."
The couple said they would be back and would like to bring friends. Mrs. SanFilippo, who works as a speech therapist for children, said she thought the children she works with would love the show.
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