Shen Yun

February 1, 2012 found us in the Hult Center as the blackberry curtain went up on The World Premier Classical Chinese Dance Company performance of SHEN YUN.
The words evoke a sense of wonder, magic and the divine..........I fell we experienced the experience of a lifetime which one would never see in China. In a word.........beautiful.
The name Shen is a term for divine or divine being while Yun refers to the overall manner of a dancer and the meaning behind his or her movements. It was all of that with some stumpendous moving backgrounds and gorgeous harmonious colors of the China landscape including parts of the Great wall..........I found it fascinating to think of the diversity in China.
Currently the DAC book club is reading Peter Hessler's book called "Country Driving" A Chinese road trip. He drove the entire great wall of China and did a commentary of the impact that the car culture has not brought to China but the current evolution of that vast country as more and more Chinese discover the car. His viewpoint as a Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker is fascinating as well as insightful. The show helped bring the visual and sound to the book as a new look at a country I will probably never visit.
The Oregon Falun Dafa Association was instrumental in bringing the show to town. Falun Dafa is a form of religion not condoned in China . Peter Hessler speaks of it in his book and the show artfully displays the people trying to practice their faith while being persecuted.
The show was not only spiritual but had a message and it doesn't get any better than this. I am so glad that on a whim we bought tickets nearly a month ago and we got a lasting memory.