LAS VEGAS—Hon. Ron Rose, a U.S. magistrate judge, was among the audience members in a nearly sold out showing of Shen Yun Performing Arts at Reynolds Hall in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts March 17.
Judge Rose said he felt the performance was “enlightening.”
“It’s kind of a floating sensation,” he said, adding that he enjoyed the dancers’ jumping and tumbling techniques as well as their sense of humor.
“It’s very entertaining. I don’t usually get out to [see] much culture, but I’m glad I did this time. I really enjoy the dancing and choreography and colorful costumes,” he said.
Shen Yun is a New York-based classical Chinese music and dance company that tours to 100 cities worldwide each year. With the mission to revive traditional Chinese culture, Shen Yun has three companies that are currently touring North America, Europe, and Asia.
One audience member at a recent performance in Mesa, Ariz., noticed a “buzz” about Shen Yun. He said, “Some of our family in Michigan has seen the show. I was just in New York, and they were advertising it all over, so there’s a buzz about it.”
A Shen Yun performance includes a collection of brief pieces in which male and female dancers clad in a myriad of richly colored costumes dramatize salient points of China’s 5,000-year-old history while accompanied by a live orchestra.
Judge Rose enjoyed the coordination and timing between the dancers and the music.
“I like the flow—the very cultural flow of the music and the way the dancing goes together. It all seems to flow together,” he said.
His message to all the performers: “Keep up the good work.”
Performers’ Talent ‘Beyond expression’
Also at the St. Patrick’s Day showing of Shen Yun at Reynolds Hall were Ms. Oksoon Goldberg, a theater donor, and Anita Shabosky, a retired nurse.
Both enjoyed the performance.
“We are very impressed with their talent,” Ms. Oksoon said.
She said the skill of the dancers was “amazing” and “beyond expression.” “They are fantastic,” she said.
Although the majority of the pieces in a Shen Yun performance include classical and ethnic Chinese dance, an integral feature is the vocal soloists whose lyrics are “[b]rimming with philosophical reflection about human life and containing deep layers of meaning,” according to the company website.
“And the singers, oh my,” Ms. Shabosky said. “The tenors and sopranos—I love that.”
Both Ms. Oksoon and Ms. Shabosky were struck by the femininity of the female dancers and the beauty of the costumes.
“The costumes were unbelievable,” Ms. Oksoon said, referring to the hundreds of handmade pieces worn by the dancers throughout the performance.
According to the company website, Shen Yun’s costume designers “stress harmonic balance and contrast. Their objective is an authentic presentation of the attire that comes from China’s divinely inspired traditional culture, and a consummate stage effect.”
Ms. Oksoon feels that, as a Korean, she has a connection with Chinese culture because the largest ethnic group in China is the Han.
“I am from Korea, and our country is called ‘Han Guo,’ it means ‘country of Han.’ So I think Korea is influenced by China quite a bit,” she said.
She was particularly touched by the artistic display of China’s 5,000 years of civilization, with both its prosperous and difficult times, and she noted that its time under communism has been “terrible.”
A performance like Shen Yun, which openly expresses the traditional Chinese belief in the divine, cannot be seen in today’s China.
Ms. Shabosky felt that it’s important for Shen Yun performers to be able to express themselves through dance to “show their pride” for their culture and beliefs.
She and Ms. Oksoon heartily recommend Shen Yun. “Absolutely,” Ms. Shabosky said. “Yes. Great entertainment,” said Ms. Oksoon.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is scheduled to perform at the SHN Orphum Theatre in San Francisco, Calif., Mar. 20–24. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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