(Clearwisdom.net) The world-renowned Shen Yun Performing Arts took the stage at the Kennedy Center Opera House in the nation's capital on Wednesday, August 26, 2009. Earlier this year in February, Shen Yun performed seven shows at the same venue, where American presidents often enjoy performances. Due to public demand, the world touring company is back in town for a week.

Bank Consultant: 'A universal culture or a universal lesson'

Leopold Engozogo, a consultant at the World Bank Institute, saw the show for the first time. He said that there were different emotions presented--sadness and joyfulness--both of which he enjoyed. "In terms of joyful moments, I will always remember the Tibetan dance, because the choreography was so intense," he said. "The drums were also always joyful, powerful--you can feel the force."

Engozogo, originally from Gabon, said that he would not forget the sad moments either, referring to "Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution," a program that depicts a father who practices the traditional spiritual discipline Falun Gong. He was illegally arrested and tortured to death by Chinese communist police, bringing great pain to the wife and daughter.

"I understood the pain of this scene when the little girl was crying and the mom was without any hope. That was inside of me. It was just a universal scene. And I like the way the choreography was done. It was a universal culture, a universal lesson."

Most of the Shen Yun programs feature classical Chinese dance, and it also passes along important values, such as determination, perseverance, and compassion, which shape Chinese people even today. He mentioned another sad moment in a program called "Dignity and Compassion," where another female Falun Gong practitioner was illegally jailed, and a choice was left for a policeman.

"My personal feeling is that he wasn't able to completely kill her. Therefore, even when you are doing a bad thing, you always have time to stop it, and maybe you can even be pardoned," he said. "That is very important. They have a lot of lessons in terms of spiritual life and doing good things. I think it's my main impression--anything you do good, the payoff will always be better. Maybe not now, but it will always be better."

Shen Yun's dance, live orchestra, and three dimensional backdrops have graced stages in over 90 cities on five continents just in 2009. A whole new set of programs will be introduced in 2010, which will be shown at the Kennedy Center from January 20 to 24, 2010.

Engozogo said that he will certainly recommend the show and also come himself in January again.

Director of Business Development and Marketing for the Washington Examiner Shares Her Impression of the Show

Gina Sacripanti from the Washington Examiner shared her impression of the show: "Well first of all I have to say that I was here at the February show, so I do have something to know from before hand, but like the earlier show it was very impressive on a number of different levels. First of all the performance, the synchronization, the costumes, the fluidity of the performers was fantastic, beautiful, the lines of the performers. And I think the message, accompanied with the orchestra, really made you reflect on what was being conveyed. So not only were you enticed with the performance, but the message was always clear, spiritual awareness. I think everything was here tonight, as the performers came in and provided the audience with so many different levels, from the purely artistic, to spirituality, to musical."

Regarding the spiritual elements that impressed her, she said: "We all kind of get caught up in the day to day, and sometimes you need to really stop and think about what are your priorities in life, and how you interact with one another, whether in your professional or in your personal life. Your interactions with one another make a difference, and carry forward in many ways."

Gina said that in comparison to the February show, there were some new things, saying: "Yes, what was new, were the drum performances. The Tibetan dance was different as well. Things I remembered from about the February show, were the colorful dances from the Southern region, with the really colorful skirts. The water fairies were also among my favorites. The colors were very soothing. The movement of the fans depicting a waterfall was fabulous; it really made you feel like you were in a waterfall.

When the reporter asked her why she decided to become a media sponsor, she replied: "I get approached by a lot of different events and performances, but for me what's important is something that is unique and obviously high caliber, something that our readership would want to see, and also something that is giving back to the community. Coming back to the message that was relayed in the performance, for us being a media outlet it is important for me to sponsor really quality performances."

She mentioned that she did not you know a lot about traditional Chinese culture before coming to the Shen Yun performances, even though she had been to China before. She had done a little bit of research there, but was not that aware of traditional Chinese culture.

Gina would describe the show to her readers and friends as: "Inspirational, a must see performance, one that will delight audiences of all ages, with costumes, musical performances--something for all ages."