I pride myself on researching things before I buy them.

Is it a good value?

Are there better products out there?

Do I really need it?

You know, the cringe millennial minimalist lifestyle.

However, when it comes to experiences, I like to be surprised.

I wrote before that I buy a lot of tickets months, sometimes a year in advance. Not only do I get better prices and seats, but I also always have something to look forward to - gigs, theatre, musicals, you name it.

So when last year an ad popped up for a dance performance on Ancient China, I thought - that looks interesting.

When I bought the tickets (months ago), they were a bit pricier than what I was expecting, but I thought - well, they probably have to travel from China, and it looks like there will be many performers, fine.

I purchased the tickets and forgot about it.

Well, the sold-out performance was last week, and it was not what I was expecting.

There were eight separate performances without an overarching narrative. The gymnastics and dancing were impressive, and the costumes were beautiful. The background CGI screen was a bit outdated, but it was funny how they blended it with the performance.

The orchestra was small and the music simple, but still decent. Overall, enjoyable (overpriced, though).

Then, about halfway through, during a couple of performances, I started getting Scientology vibes—plus, the program they gave us had ads for weird news and online services.

So, during the intermission, I did what I do best - research.

It turns out Shen Yun is part of a religious movement that has a base in New York, is banned in China as a cult and is financed by a far-right, conspiracy theory-promoting media organisation.

So my Spidey sense was right, especially when they wanted to talk to us after the performance, which gave me the Hollywood Scientology Street Guys deja vu.

As I said, I like to be surprised when I go out.

It means that sometimes I get Akram Khan's Giselle, which literally changes my life, and sometimes I get recruited by a Chinese Scientology cult.

At least the dancing was nice.

Source Link:https://mikemigas.substack.com/p/i-joined-a-cult-accidentally