[Josefina Leyva, Cuban Writer and Poet in Exile]:
“The final soprano, her voice is beautiful. The tenor also sings well. She transmitted a beautiful spiritual message. I congratulate you [Shen Yun], because art should always be connected with spirituality and ethics, aesthetics can't be apart from ethics, and you [Shen Yun] connected these all together.”

Ms. Leyva has published a collection of poetry and eight novels. She found Shen Yun quite inspiring.

[Josefina Leyva, Cuban Writer and Poet in Exile]:
“I like it very much because, first, it [the performance] has a very deep meaning, then, it is very close to the Western ballet. It has great mastery and great professionalism. It has a very deep meaning expressed through dance. I found it really a wonderful show, so I believe that among these artists, who are very numerous, there are remarkable people. I believe that one could write a very beautiful book about you [Shen Yun].”

Pinto and his wife are from Spain. They were also in the audience.

[Pinto, Audience Member from Spain]:
“The show is amazing.. My wife felt really touched.”

[Pila, Audience Member from Spain]:
“The show is the best I have seen lately. The dancers are very coordinated, the scenery is spectacular. I was amazed with the special effects.”

NTD News, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

[Don Gombos, Investment Management Company CEO]:
“It’s absolutely wonderful, very colorful. Extraordinary, something that I’ll never forget.”

Classical Chinese dance is the basis of a Shen Yun performance.

[Don Gombos, Investment Management Company CEO]:
“Just very interesting. Oriental and Eastern, religion and culture something that very much interests me.”

One audience member adopted from China enjoyed a performance called “The Choice.”

[Cara, Audience Member]:
“I liked that one, just because of the message and the meaning behind it on how people can actually stick up for what they believe in and go for it and not let anyone stop them including the police so.”

[Antoinette, Retired Teacher]:
“It just brought me to tears because of what went on. But the triumph at the end, the good was going to triumph over it. They were going to rise again.”

[Hollie Altman, Performing Arts Center Programming Director in Miami]:
“The idea of passivism, and wanting to, and good conquering evil and no matter what happens, no matter what types of ideologies are in charge in the moment, the idea and the trust that good will prevail no matter what, was really beautiful.”

One political activist appreciated Shen Yun’s aim to revive and restore traditional Chinese culture.

[Lolly Fox, Political Activist for the Democratic Party]:
“It’s really important to keep that alive. And to them it’s really important. If they keep travelling they’ll keep that message alive.”

Shen Yun has its final performance in Fort Lauderdale today, and is heading next to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania for shows on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Another Shen Yun company is about to start touring in Japan this week.

NTD News, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
 

In New York, NTD is a media sponsor of Shen Yun.

[Leon Abbas, Economist]:
“It was wonderful. I came with no particular expectation, except I was interested in seeing what it was, and it was very, very enjoyable. The show was fairly long, and it went very quickly for me.”

His wife was also taken with the performance.

[Sally Abbas, Teacher]:
“I was mightily impressed. I knew some of what I was expecting it to be. I thought it was just magnificently put on…Especially with the singers. It talks about truth through the years, the struggle for humanity, but in the end, if you are diligent you will have success. You will be able to bring heaven and earth together.”

One couple came with their adopted Chinese daughter.

“We wanted to be able to give her some of the artistic history of her country.”

[Carol Allen, Computer Expert]:
“It was very spiritual, about the good and evil and good triumphing, in the end.”

[Jerry Weber, Entrepreneur]:
“The overall message of having the freedom, to express themselves, and to search in what they believed in. That’s what stood out.”

NTD New, Raleigh, North Carolina

[Regina Hackett, Author]:
“I loved it. It was innovative, beautiful, simple, harmonious, and very skilled. I’d never seen the backdrops open up like that. To include characters coming down out of the sky, who then become the dancers— that has to be timed so perfectly. I thought it was beautiful.”

Shen Yun takes the audience on a journey through Chinese history, from ancient times up until the present day.

[Regina Hackett, Author]:
“And I like the contemporary pieces. I thought the tribute to Falun Gong, the piece about meditaters in the park being attacked by police, and yet it took it to another level, a spiritual level, so you can have, even in the face of such injustice, you can find some radiant peace inside you and be strong. And I thought they did that quite beautifully. Because this is not an angry show, even though there is so much injustice. This is a show that says Chinese culture is very old, and rich.”

NTD News, Seattle
 

[Bud Cagle, Taekwondo Champion]:
"I actually was impressed with the fan dances, the imperial guard. I didn't know you could do that much with a fan. It was impressive. I was amazed."

One software engineer came with eight of his family members.

[Jay Adatta, Software Engineer]:
"It covered 5,000 years of history with a lot of music, melodious music. Also the costumes and dancers. It was unbelievably good"

A university ballet instructor brought her daughter, a young ballet student, to see Shen Yun.

[Maggie Tesch, University Ballet Instructor]:
“The costuming is amazing. I think we both have enjoyed that, and the fans. She keeps saying she wants a fan like the ones in the show, but they just leave such a lasting image in your brain even beyond when the dance is over, you are still thinking about what you have just seen.”

Even though Rodney Bonney has not been to China, he has an appreciation for Chinese history and culture.

[Rodney Bonney, Audience Member]:
"I pretty much knew most of the Monkey King, a lot of different history and stuff for the Chinese, from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, all the different facets of it. I like it all.”

NTD News, Park City, Utah
 

[Lily Korstanje, Managing Director Real Estate Marketing Firm]:
“I was actually thrown by the beauty, the spirituality as well as the energy, that was emulating from the performers, from every detail. The orchestra was amazing. The soprano was amazing. The tenor was amazing. The costumes were so aesthetically done, it was overwhelming. Overwhelming. Way more than what I had expected even though I heard a lot of good things about it.”

She enjoyed watching classical Chinese dance.

[Lily Korstanje, Managing Director Real Estate Marketing Firm]:
“You see on the faces of the performers how engaged they were, how excited and dedicated, and believing in what they’re doing, and that was certainly very clearly conveyed to the audience, at least I got it. And I could feel the energy and the heat and the enthusiasm rising in the audience as well, and I think that’s the true sign of success.”

Shen Yun presents not only the history of China, but also the spirituality and belief systems that were deeply tied to Chinese traditions and heritage in times past.

[Lily Korstanje, Managing Director Real Estate Marketing Firm]:
“They’re so gracious and I was mentioning to my daughter that they command their artistry so well, they make it look so simple. The women are like gazelles you know, just jumping and light like fairies, and it just goes with that Falun Gong and that idea of the divine. I think that is the word, simply divine.”

For her, Shen Yun offered her a renewed belief in something bigger than ourselves.

[Lily Korstanje, Managing Director Real Estate Marketing Firm]:
“I feel that something has touched me, that takes me back on track to believe there is something much larger than life, and I definitely had that feeling and everybody here I know is touched and I think we have gained an insight that is very invaluable. If we could just remember that in our day-to-day lives.”

NTD News, Vancouver, Canada

[Renee Fulsom, Artistic Director]:
“As soon as the performance started, I started crying. It was very emotional for me. It was so beautiful.”

The opening scene, to her, was incredibly beautiful.

[Renee Fulsom, Artistic Director]:
“So much warmth of the soul and beauty of the heart. I don’t know how to describe it— I was so overwhelmed by emotion seeing it open. It was just so beautiful.”

She says the insight into traditional Chinese culture, history and belief systems was something special for her.

[Renee Fulsom, Artistic Director]:
“The presence of the divine, of the Buddha, the presence of heaven. The pure lands, was very well depicted I felt.”

She hopes her family and friends will see Shen Yun.

[Renee Fulsom, Artistic Director]:
“Going online when I get home and going on my Facebook and Twitter and I’m telling everybody to come.”

NTD News, Vancouver, Canada

[Tina, Dancer]:
“All these jumps, the techniques they have, the story they dance, they create, it’s amazing, it’s very inspirational, very.”

[Victoria, Dancer]:
“Extremely inspiring, and I watch it and I want to be exactly like all those dancers out there.”

The technical skill of the Shen Yun dancers made a deep impression.

[Victoria, Dancer]:
"If you watch their feet, it takes 20 years to achieve that, it’s crazy."

[Tina, Dancer]:
"I wish I could achieve the height they get on those jumps, I try so hard, a lot of work needs to be put into it."

The young dancers of Shen Yun are leaving a deep impression and giving inspiration to other young dancers around the world.

NTD News, Vancouver, Canada

Shen Yun Performing Arts lit up the stage at the Hult Center in Eugene on Wednesday evening, much to the delight of the audience.

Dan Neal is an attorney and has been practicing in Eugene for more than 30 years.

[Dan Neal, Attorney]:
“Oh it’s wonderful! It’s so enchanting and the talent and artistry of the performers—from the dancers to the singers, to the musicians in the orchestra—and it’s so unique in our experience. I think it’s wonderful that this Chinese culture is being brought to our community so we can have a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the wonders of the Chinese culture.”

Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company.

[Dan Neal, Attorney]:
"The dancers are so well choreographed—their movements are so perfectly synchronized, and their artistry, their coordination, their athleticism. These things are remarkable. The leg lifts that are so high and the times when they’re supposed to hold them still, they’re amazingly still. Everybody should have a chance to see this performance because it’s quite remarkable."

Lisa Ponder is also an attorney. She watched Shen Yun with her friend Alice Aikens.

[Lisa Ponder, Attorney]:
“Oh, the beauty of the colors and the costuming and the music and the storytelling—all beautiful together. I was delighted to see how the technology of the background scene showed action and then the characters come down and then pop out on stage and the seamlessness of the action on the screen and the action of dancers. Beautifully done, wonderful.”

NTD News, Eugene, Oregan

Note: In New York, NTD is an official media sponsor of Shen Yun.