LOS ANGELES—For many attendees of Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s Saturday matinee performance at The Music Center, the show was something special.
Jody Agius Vallejo, a professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California, said Shen Yun is “a very, very interesting cultural experience that really gets at the heart.”
“It is an eye-opening experience for all of us, and we’re very glad to have them here in Los Angeles,” she added.
Professor Vallejo said she was most impressed by the storylines of the performances, and the gracefulness of the dancers.
The stories presented in Shen Yun are drawn from China’s rich, 5,000-year-old culture, taking different stories and episodes from history. They are all told through the medium of classical Chinese dance.
“Classical Chinese dance has a long history of thousands of years, passed down continuously within the imperial palace and ancient Chinese theater and opera. Soaking up profound wisdom from every era and dynasty, it has become a complete system of dance embodying traditional aesthetic principles with its unique dance movements, rhythms, and inner meaning,” explains the Shen Yun website.
“We live in a global world, a multi-ethnic global world,” said Professor Vallejo. “Nowhere is that more represented here than Los Angeles. Los Angeles is an immigrant mecca. Los Angeles is an immigrant city, and this [Shen Yun] is really the epitome of bringing multiple ethnic groups together.”
With reporting by Sound of Hope Radio Network and Ben Bendig.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world and will perform at New York City’s Lincoln Center through January 15.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
