SAN FRANCISCO—Shen Yun Performing Arts performed to a sold-out audience at the SHN Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco on Saturday, March 23. Among those attending the performance were husband and wife Jim and Judy Cotsakos.
“It was my first time I ever went to something like this, and I thought it was incredible,” said Mr. Cotsakos, who is a general agent with Genworth Financial.
Mr. Cotsakos said he admired the traditional Chinese culture displayed in the performance.
“It definitely caught us. We’re going to come back next year,” he said.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has the mission of reviving 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, much of which has been lost in present-day China under communist rule.
Mrs. Cotsakos said that the colors in the performance stood out for her.
“I kept asking him before the curtains went up, I said, ‘What color now?’ Because it was so beautiful, each color, was so apparent,” she said.
Mr. and Mrs. Cotsakos attended the Shen Yun performance as a gift to each other for their anniversary.
“I thought the synchronization between the orchestra and the dancing was incredible,” Mr. Cotsakos said.
“The conductor was right on, and the way the orchestra followed her was really an impeccable way of displaying a combination of music and dance.”
Mr. and Mrs. Cotsakos said they were happy they were sitting in the very front of the auditorium.
“We sat up closer to have the music really fill us with the dance,” Mr. Cotsakos said.
The Shen Yun orchestra is unique in that it combines both Western and classical Chinese instruments.
Mrs. Cotsakos said she loved the male dances in the performance. “I liked it when the male—the guys—were up there doing their masculine dancing,” she said.
“But I love the beautiful women and the way the move; they glide. I was just very fascinated with that part, too,” she said.
Mr. Cotsakos said he especially appreciated the female dancers and agreed with his wife about their flowing movements. “I think the choreography was incredible,” he said.
“The movement of each piece, going from one to the other without any hesitation, it was very fluid. I loved that.”
Reporting by Michelle Yang and Jasper Fakkert
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is performing in San Francisco, at the SHN Orpheum Theatre, March 20-24. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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