(Clearwisdom.net) The New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts Company held a show in the Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois, Springfield, Illinois on the evening of Feb. 9, as part of its international tour.

Ms. Stanton, a designer and Mr. Gonet, a decorative painter.

Ms. Stanton, a designer and Mr. Gonet, a decorative painter, were determined not to be stopped by a harsh winter's night. They were greatly surprised and glad they saw Shen Yun and would recommend it to others to see because of the performance's cultural aspects.

"It is very moving. One of the pieces even brought me to tears," Ms. Stanton said. "Everyone should be exposed to cultural aspects of Asian society like this."

She also noted, "It is visually stunning and [I'm] loving the cultural aspect of it, something that I think is missing in European dance."

Mr. Gonet said: "The show is very telling of a culture and I think that the orchestration of the music and the form of dance is very poetic and elegant. You can really see the beauty of the culture, in their dance. And, I love dance and all kinds of dance. I like watching dancers perform."

Not only were the cultural aspects notable but Ms. Stanton said, "I think the show is visually stunning. It is amazing. The colors are beautiful."

Mr. Gonet stated that he believed that by watching the dancer dance, that we have taken so much from their culture and incorporated it into ours, from modern ballet to gymnastic. "To think these dances have been around for thousands of years," he said. "This is their culture, this is what they believe. This is their spirituality."

Mr. Gonet noted. "[The backdrop] does have a form of animation that is very calming." He summed up the performance as being both calming and having relevance.

Martial Arts Instructor: "The best performance I've seen in my life!"

Among the enthusiastic audience was Jamie, who teaches English in China. She was with her husband Marcos from Brazil, who owns and runs a martial arts academy in Springfield.

Marcos was clearly impressed by the gorgeously costumed artists and their quick changes between each scene.

"I would describe it [as] the best performance I've seen in my life. The way they dress, too, was wonderful. And they change their outfits so fast ... [I] was so impressed," he said. "I love the show. It was beautiful. I love all the dance and the singing, too, was beautiful.I think the dance is beautiful. ... they're so light with the dancing."

Jamie agreed, the performance was indeed "beautiful" and as an English teacher in China, she appreciated the show being delivered in the mother tongue of China.

"I was really happy that they spoke a lot in Chinese. I really appreciated that. I thought it was really beautiful, and that added a lot to it. The dancing was spectacular."

Jamie teaches in China for only part of the year, and the other part she spends with her husband at the academy.

She was blown away by the synchronization of the dancers choreographed moves that fit perfectly with colorful 3-D backdrops and a fusion of Western and Chinese music.

"Precise. Very precise. Everything was perfect. You couldn't find a mistake if you tried. And the space between each person ... it was perfect. Everything was perfect, it was amazing.

"I think just the talent and the orchestra-it seems like everybody works together. It seems like they're all on the same page-everybody. ... it seems like they have perfectly [fit] together. They're all working as a team."

Jamie said she would tell others about the variety within the program.

"A really good mixture of the different tribes in China like the Miao, [In a Miao Village.] You can see some of the traditional dresses and the dance, and just experience the culture and a lot of the art out of each people's group."

She was really impressed that Shen Yun came to Springfield, home of the United States founding father, Abraham Lincoln.

"I was like, 'They're here in Springfield?' So that was nice. Usually we don't have big shows like this ... the fact that they work like a team and they're very organized seems like they work very hard."

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29391/ and http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29407/