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Former State Legislator Inspired by Shen Yun (Photos)

August 30, 2010 |  

(Clearwisdom.net) The Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC, was the proud host of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Company, on August 25, 2010.

Ms. Mandel, a Member of the Maryland State House of Delegates from 1995-2007.

Seeing Shen Yun for the first time, Ms. Adrienne Mandel, a Member of the Maryland State House of Delegates from 1995-2007, said she was "enthralled, totally enthralled!"

What got Ms. Mandel's attention was the "combination and the meshing of beautiful music and ethereal dance, and the technology of the multimedia presentation."

She said that all components in the performances "came together with a very moving message," adding, "To me, the message was as important as what carried the message forward. And I was very moved by it."

Turning her attention to the spiritual aspect of the show, Ms. Mandel explained, "Spirituality is essential to everyone's life. No matter what faith one follows, the idea of truth and honesty and all the values which all the faiths hold dear, should be incorporated in everyone's life, and should not be suppressed,"

The Chinese regime's ongoing persecution of Falun Gong and its refusal to allow "a spiritual connection with its people," deeply saddens Ms. Mandel.

Referring to one of the show's performances depicting this persecution, she said, "It was very emotional for me to see that one piece of violence and repression of people."

Ms. Mandel concluded by giving her overall impression of Shen Yun: "I would say it's phenomenal, fantastic, and awesome! Also very inspiring, VERY inspiring. I'll carry that message. Thank you!"

Arts Connoisseur Impressed by Shen Yun

Arts connoisseur and enthusiast, Ms. Rhoda Septilici, who emigrated to the U.S. from Romania, was thoroughly impressed with Shen Yun.

The performance that especially captivated her attention was "Fairies of the Clouds," which she described as "so lovely!"

Ms. Septilici noted that there was a central message or theme throughout the whole show.

"The Buddhist message is wonderful, and so is the human rights message. It is important to insist on human rights, and not enough is being said about what goes on in China today. ... So we need to bring that to everyone's attention more," she explained.

Classical Pianist: "The Show Is Absolutely Beautiful!"

Curtain call at The Kennedy Center Opera House, on Aug. 25.

Ms. Anna Auspenskaya, a Russian trained classical pianist, was deeply impressed by the performance.

"The show is absolutely beautiful!" she said. "As a musician I especially appreciate the presence of authentic instruments, and I loved the singers. It was great with the specific tone of voices. Gorgeous music. As a musician I'm mostly focusing on what's close to my art.

"Beautiful. Wonderful playing. The orchestra is great. Wonderful ensemble, beautiful balance, and like I said, I love the authentic Chinese instruments being mixed with the classical instruments, it gives it a wonderful flavor, I love it!

"And the music, I assume it's mostly modern, composed nowadays for your show, right? It's great. It's very classy and very well done. It's wonderful," she said.

Ms. Auspenskaya continued. The show is "very unique. I love the fact that you sent that message without actually imposing it on the audience. And that's a very wonderful thing because that makes people more open to receive it. Wonderful!"

The message that the musician was referring to was related to the two story-based performances, "Nothing Can Block the Divine Path" and "Astounding Conviction," which portrays the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners for their spiritual beliefs.

She concluded by saying that the show's human rights message was well presented and important to hear. "Yes, it is, in the U.S. especially."

Sources:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41614/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41623/
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/41600/