SAN ANTONIO—”I would say go see it,” said Mr. Steve Elliott, a senior vice president at the Southwest Securities San Antonio, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time.
“It’s very well done, choreography is outstanding, and the costumes are outstanding,” Mr. Elliott said at the Lila Cockrell Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, Sunday evening.
Mr. Elliott said he was particularly impressed with the dance An Unexpected Encounter, which tells the story of a father and daughter on a trip to China and have a fateful encounter with the spiritual discipline Falun Gong that is currently persecuted in China.
New York-based Shen Yun’s dance performances, which are mostly classical Chinese dance, as well as ethnic and folk dances, tell the story of 5,000 years of the divinely inspired Chinese culture.
‘Everything stood out’
Physician Dustin Kiker had wanted to see Shen Yun last year, but was unable to get tickets. He finally got a chance to see the performance this year.
“I loved the performance,” Mr. Kiker said. “I learned a lot tonight. I think it’s [Shen Yun is] bringing the culture to us.”
Mr. Kiker said he enjoyed all aspects of the performance, and that “everything stood out, it was very entertaining.”
“The colors were very lively,” he added.
Mr. Kiker attended the performance with Mr. Michael Jones, a faculty coordinator at the UT Southwestern in Dallas, who was struck by the use of the state-of-the art digital backdrops in the Shen Yun performance.
“They’re really entertaining, and I think they add a lot to the story lines,” Mr. Jones said. “It gives it that magical quality.”
Shen Yun’s animated backdrop transports the audience through the ages and all across China, projecting scenes from celestial palaces to lush landscapes.
“The theme of right over wrong is very prevalent,” Mr. Jones said, conveying the themes he noticed in the performances. “It’s interesting to see that that is something that’s really ingrained in Chinese culture.”
“I’m finding it very fascinating learning about the legends and myths of China,” Mr. Jones added. “It makes me want to see more.”
Reporting by SOH Radio Network and Sarah Guo
The Shen Yun International Company will be in San Antonio, Texas, through April 17.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
