AUSTIN, Texas—Shen Yun Performing Arts presented a beautiful story for Alfonso Lopez, a director of finance, and his family at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin on April 13.
“It’s beautiful. It’s really beautiful. It’s the first time we’ve come, but it’s beautiful, what we have seen. The family’s enjoying it a lot,” Mr. Lopez said.
“The stories are beautiful,” he added. “They are really showing a part of the Chinese and Asian culture.”
By way of art forms like classical Chinese dance and ethnic and folk dances, the New York-based Shen Yun brings to life 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through music and dance.
The core of the culture is its tie to the divine, Shen Yun’s website explains. “Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution” are the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
“It’s really nice,” Mr. Lopez said of the spirituality of the culture. “It’s because it’s its own unique way. It’s not the same here in the U.S. or in other countries, but it’s really nice—it’s a good thing.”
An aspect most intriguing to Mr. Lopez and his family was the Shen Yun Orchestra, which uses instrumentation unlike any other orchestra.
“There’s the unique sounds that are in the orchestra, and they’re really nice. When I passed by, I saw some different instruments that I’ve never seen,” Mr. Lopez said.
During a Shen Yun performance, instruments like the pipa, the suona, and the two-stringed erhu are blended in with a Western philharmonic orchestra.
“The sequence of the music and the sequence of the orchestra is amazing, so it’s really nice,” Mr. Lopez explained. “It’s perfect. It’s just perfect. It’s the right rhythm.”
‘So beautiful, tears came to my eyes’
Also seeing Shen Yun was Anna Epifani, a medical credentialist, who said that this was her first time seeing Shen Yun, “but not the last time, for sure.”
“It’s so beautiful. I knew it was going to be beautiful just from the pictures. But seeing the performance live, with the music, it’s just so beautiful—tears came to my eyes a few times,” Ms. Epifani added. “It’s gorgeous and I really, really enjoy it.”
“I love the girls with the sleeves, and the way they dance, and how elegant they make it—it’s almost like time is slowing down with the dance,” Ms. Epifani said.
Reporting by NTD Television and Lily Setoh
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
