With the two emcees cutting in between each act, the show was like being caught in a mash-up of an old Western Electric educational filmstrip and a Disney Special: neither beautiful nor particularly edifying.
I saw the DC production last night, and was underwhelmed. The M.C.'s had very cheesy patter with bland delivery, the male dancers had some good individuals but bad group timing and cohesion. The show never delivered strong energy, and worst of all: extreme religious propaganda throughout.
"Master Li's claims of being able to levitate, having supernatural powers, moving objects with his mind and healing people are difficult to take seriously. Plus, he claims not to be political, but his sentiments are revolutionary," says Professor of religious studies, Paul Morris.
Patsy Rahn is studying modern and classical Chinese at UCLA in preparation to enter a graduate program in Chinese studies. The purpose of this paper is to look beyond the headlines of the past year and to give an objective analysis of the Falun Gong.
Ticket buyers to two shows Friday by Shen Yun Performing Arts at St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater may be in for a surprise. The production is billed as Chinese classical dance and music, and while that is accurate as far as it goes, it doesn't tell the entire story.
Isn't it ironic that I have to be told that I am ignorant about things that happened around me and witnessed in my own country by people who likely were not even there? It saddens me that I have to defend myself first to express how I feel about things.
What has been showcased as the "Traditional Chinese culture in a colourful gala of music and dance. Inspired by ancient Chinese culture" turns out to be a fund raising and propaganda show for the para-religious Falun Gong cult.
Jamie Gumbrecht, a journalist from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote this article in her blog. "At Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Chinese performnace troupe Shen Yun featured drummers, dancers and propaganda that surprised some audiences. Some were OK with the message, but some were offend...
The Vancouver Sun published an article written by Larissa Liepins from Canwest News Service on January 13. She said, "I hate to break it to you, but if you've already bought tickets for the musical extravaganza that is Shen Yun Performing Arts, you've been sold a bill of goods."
The study is based on a year's ethnographic research with Falun Gong, analysis of Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi's speeches and writings, and a discussion of external sources. The author concludes that much of the material about Falun Gong in the Western news misleads the public.
Mitsugu Sato, the editor-in-chief of The Epoch Times Japan and the leader of Japanese website, died on July 20. Together with the fellow practitioners, his wife Xiao Xinli actually wanted to bring him back to life seven days after death by "sending forth righteous thoughts".
This report was published on April 30, 2000 by Craig S. Smith to reveal Falun Gong's followers are misled and its leader deluded, or even a fraud. In fact, a closer examination of Falun Gong's beliefs and practices challenges some of the easy assumptions about Beijing's behavior.
My name is Gao Junhong, 42 years old, a resident from Hebei Province. Though I was obsessed by Falun Gong in the past; today I've got rid of its mental control. However, my friend Liang Lihua was not as fortunate as I for she died because of the influence of Falun Gong in 2007.
I was shocked and upset to learn about the great negative impact caused by my fabrication on the Internet. I think it's my duty to clarify the truth as the author of the story, the one responsible for the entire thing, and the witness so as to expose the lies told by Falun Gong.
My wife and I are both retired. Retired seniors should have lived the happiest lives and that is why people use "red sun light" to symbolize the old age. But this was not the case for us and the retirement was the beginning of nightmare for us. In the end, my wife passed away.