Arts Patrons Spend a ‘Truly Magical Night’ With Shen Yun

COSTA MESA, Calif.—Patrons for the Arts Helene and Jerome Dreskin, have scoped hundreds of cultural performances with an eye to furthering the arts.

But never have they seen anything like Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s classical Chinese dance and music spectacular that debuted in Costa Mesa on Friday evening, May 6.

“We happen to love the show,” said Mr. Dreskin, a former Wall Street money manager. “We spend a lot of time in culture and dance … so this is an interesting experience for us to try and get the culture as well as the pageantry in what we see.

“It’s fascinating. We adore ethnic dancing, and this is one country that we are not that familiar with … not at this level and not in this breadth,” he added.

Fresh from performing in San Diego, Shen Yun set the stage ablaze in a spectrum of color and action at the Segerstrom Hall, housed by the Orange County Center for the Performing Arts, to delighted theatergoers.

Mrs. Dreskin was impressed by the hundreds of handmade costumes, intricately adorned, that are choreographed to move with a dancer, effectively capturing light, gestures and mannerisms.

“They are really magical. Magically beautiful,” she said. “They capture the movement of the dance so beautifully.”

Mr. Dreskin was still coming to grips with the rich tapestry that unfolded on stage.

“I was trying to get past the pageantry of just the simpleness of the color, trying to understand some feeling of Chinese color that goes beyond the color and simplicity of the costumes,” he said.

“And that’s what I feel ignorant about, because I don’t know a lot about the culture, and there’s a lot in here—other than just the singing and color of the costumes.”

Shen Yun, based in New York and aspires to restore China’s ancient 5,000-year-old culture; a culture that is thought to be divinely imparted, but which has almost been totally destroyed by six decades of communist rule, where freedom of belief is still suppressed, and the traditional spiritual discipline of Falun Gong is still persecuted today.

“We were just talking with our friends about how daring it was to dance about the Falun Gong here, and how they could probably never be welcomed in China because of it,” Mrs. Dreskin said. “We felt it was really quite brave, daring and wonderful.”

“We were talking about that because we live in New York. We saw it advertised on the East Coast, and we came to visit our friends and they sent us here—and we were thrilled.”

Mr. Dreskin was thinking deeply about the Shen Yun company formed in 2006.

“Hopefully, it’s a way to teach Americans a little bit about the culture of China that goes back [five millennia]. Our country is so new. China has a culture that transcends so much. I think it’s a wonderful thing to give experience to something that we don’t know,” he said.

“Hopefully, I will come away from this performance with an idea of the pride that China has in its culture that transcends communism and many other things like that.”

Mrs. Dreskin was inspired by the presentation. “Also, it makes us want to learn more. Really want to learn more and see more of this.”

The couple, who live in New York, are very involved with the dance theater of Harlem which is primarily African-American, but also very multi-cultural, Mrs. Dreskin said.

“They have Chinese, Korean, everybody. We are also involved with several orchestras.”

She was delighted that the conductor of the Shen Yun New York Orchestra was female. “I think it’s wonderful,” she added.

Mr. Dreskin, President of the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players in New York, also sits as a board member of many orchestras.

From a symphonic perspective, Mr. Dreskin commented on the orchestra.

“It’s not just pure Chinese music based on the tone scales as based in China. It’s a composite of both, which makes it easier to listen to for American audiences.”

The not-for-profit Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company is one of three companies traveling simultaneously around the world to revive the true, five-millennia-old artistic traditions of China.

The couple now spend their time supporting young artists.

“That is where we give all our life and soul, always. We support many artists, many dance companies,” Mr. Dreskin said.

“This experience is very dear to us, even though I don’t have a background of the history of China, its culture, dance and music. So it’s a learning experience for my wife and myself.”

Mrs. Dreskin reiterated: “This is truly magical tonight.

 Reporting by Lu Rusong and Raiatea Tahana-Reese.