HOUSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company blew Mrs. Elizabeth DeMonico and Mr. Joseph DeMonico away with its performance at Jones Hall Friday evening, Dec. 23.
Mr. and Mrs. DeMonico, who “live and breathe the arts,” are teachers at the John Cooper school in The Woodlands, where Mr. DeMonico is the chair of the Arts department overseeing dance, drama, and choir, and Mrs. DeMonico runs the dance department.
“Oh my gosh, it was just beautiful! The costuming was fabulous, the technique was perfect, and the delicacy that they moved with was amazing,” Mrs. DeMonico said.
The couple admired the hard work and discipline the New York-based company’s dancers put into their craft. Shen Yun’s performances include classical Chinese dance, and ethnic and folk dances.
“I trained as a dancer my whole life, so I really loved the dedication that they put in, it was amazing,” Mrs. DeMonico said.
“I really loved the way that it looked like they float—because the heel-toe walk—and it just looks like they’re floating across the stage,” Mrs. DeMonico said, adding that the extension of the dancers were amazing and the artistry blew her away.
“The precision, you could see the precision from the discipline, as a culture and how that has instilled in the culture, and then into the arts, very, very clearly,” Mr. DeMonico said.
Mr. DeMonico said he was impressed by the “tremendous articulation in the hands and feet,” admiring the delicate gestures unique to classical Chinese dance.
“The tremendous articulation and precision in which they moved together; it’s never stiff, it’s always very graceful. And it just goes to show, the harder you work, the more beautiful it can become, the more graceful it can become,” Mr. DeMonico said.
Mrs. DeMonico agreed and said the artistic expression was “very powerful.”
“And the orchestra was amazing too. This mix of the instruments was just beautiful,” Mrs. DeMonico said. Her husband agreed and imagined the combination was probably difficult to orchestrate, “but really, really wonderfully done.”
The Shen Yun Orchestra combines a classical Western orchestra with the unique sounds of Chinese instruments like the pipa, two-stringed erhu, and bamboo flute.
Mr. DeMonico said Shen Yun was “just very inspiring,” and something he would love to take back to share with his students. “To be able to bring them a taste of this would be a very unique experience, no doubt.”
As someone well versed in staged productions, Mr. DeMonico noticed the “simplicity” in the staging, which, combined with Shen Yun’s digital backdrop, enhanced the focus on the performers and was overall “fully realized.”
“The color and the impact the color gave—you saw that on screen and then it came to life in the costuming and the lighting,” Mr. DeMonico said. “It came to life and you saw it fully as magnificent because it was real—it was perfect.”
Shen Yun’s animated backdrop complements and synchronizes all aspects of the performance, transporting the audience to a world “where heaven and earth are one,” according to the official website.
“I thought that was very successful, very successful. Lighting was perfect, didn’t lose a bit of focus, didn’t lose a bit of lighting on the face, costumes were fully lit, everything was done very, very well,” Mr. DeMonico said, adding that he saw many things he would love to try in the theater.
Along with the artistry, Mr. DeMonico said he was impressed with the expression of the performances that depicted present-day events in China.
Shen Yun brings traditional Chinese values to life on stage, with its mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the arts. Unfortunately, the sentiment is not one that the current government of China shares, and Shen Yun’s performance is not one that can be shown in China.
“The boldness of the statements in there was so wonderful. I can only imagine how hard that must be, as that must be in China,” Mr. DeMonico said. “It was a wonderful statement brought to us in an artistic frame.”
Mrs. DeMonico agreed, and said the show prompted her to want to learn more about the culture.
“Very rich, very long lived, much more for us to learn,” Mrs. DeMonico said. “I find everything very beautiful.”
“It’s so deep and so rich, the culture. I think the history they have within the arts, the artistic culture … you never want those to be lost, you never want traditions like that to go away and I’d hate to think that there was something in the politics that would try to keep that from happening,” Mr. DeMonico added.
“You’d hate to see that go away, because that’s the heart and soul of the culture,” Mr. DeMonico said.
Shen Yun’s performances told stories ranging from Chinese fairy tales, to legends of historical figures, to present-day issues in China. Mr. DeMonico said the stories made him want to learn more about not only Chinese culture, but the current events as well.
“I’m very, very fascinated. As an American we hear very much about economy, but we don’t hear very much about culture. And there is what’s lost—economies are important, but when it comes at the loss of culture, nothing’s as important [as culture],” Mr. DeMonico said.
Reporting by NTD Television and Catherine Yang.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at Houston’s Jones Hall through Tuesday, Dec. 27. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
