WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ryan Crowder, a business director, was deeply taken by Shen Yun Performing Arts after seeing it for the first time at The Kennedy Center Opera House on Jan. 25
“It was an absolute delight. Very dazzling,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes the eighth wonder of the world.”
“The lyrics, the dance, I couldn’t even imagine how much time they spent building out their show,” Mr. Crowder said.
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company, and since 2006 has become a global phenomenon.
Mr. Crowder actually studied Chinese as a minor, and “very deeply immersed myself in the Chinese culture.” But seeing Shen Yun, he said he learned so much about what he hadn’t known about China before. This included a new understanding of China’s 50-some ethnic minority groups, as Shen Yun presents ethnic and folk dances in addition to classical Chinese dance. Mr. Crowder also learned about Falun Gong, a spiritual practice first made public in China in the 1990s, which teaches truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, and which has changed China irrevocably….