Retired Superintendent, on Shen Yun: ‘This performance is beautiful’

ESCONDIDO, Calif.—The California Center for the Arts was filled with eager theatergoers seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s final show for the 2011 season.

Dr. Bob House, retired superintendent of a San Diego east county school district, currently with the Kiwanis Club, and his wife Marianne, a retired elementary school teacher before raising her own children, were in attendance on May 5.

Mrs. House beamed, “I thought it was beautiful. It was just spectacular. And the message was really a gift—truth and all the good things, no war, getting along,” she added.

Although some of the dance programs were sad, the endings were positive, acknowledged Mr. House.

“It had a promise to it. I know having read a number of things in history of China—lot of oppression, lot of difficult things, but people continued to stay focused so that they could get ahead and that things would change and get better.”

Mr. House recalled China’s recent turbulent history under communist rule, glad to be living in America.

“We take for granted the peace we have and the ability to gather, other countries can’t do that. I think this gives promise that perhaps the oppression will not continue, ‘hope’ that it will change and it will be open for the people and the country, and open for the world to all get along together. “

Mr. House emphasized the beauty of the New York-based company’s presentation that aspires to restore China’s true divinely bestowed heritage, desecrated in recent years by the communist regime, through classical Chinese dance and music.

“This performance is beautiful,” he said. “The music is excellent, the voices were spectacular and the dancing was just unbelievable. And it was interspersed with all the gymnastics, which I find was all started in China. It was a very educational performance, as well as very beautiful.”

Mr. House noted, “There were as many as 22 dancers on the stage at the same time, but the synchronization was just beautiful.”

He continued with observations on the color and unique animated digital backdrop saying, “The color was just spectacular and the backdrop. Here, the moon comes out and sits down on the stage and people get off the stage, and they’re flying back out to space.

"It’s very, very interesting and very well done. It had a lot of good choreography. The people who put this together were very wise people.”

Offering an example of the luminous imagery, Mrs. House said, “I like the one with the plum blossoms. It was just so uplifting and colorful. I love flowers.”

Mr. House continued, “It was very delicate the way it was done. And the women were so dainty and they move with such grace all the way through.

“And the men were just meant to be powerful and strong and they were demonstrating, acting in that fashion as well. And the colors were just magnificent all the way through.

“There wasn’t a dullness to the performance. It was always very lively. Even when people were being killed in front of us, there was a sign of life. They came back. So that’s very promising.”

Affirming that he would definitely recommend this show to students and to his friends, Mr. House said, “They’re going to ask us questions. The difficulty is that there’s only one more day. We will very definitely recommend it and if they can’t see it this year, at least watch for it next year.”

“We were impressed with how many children were here … They should see it, because they will copy it and it will make an impression on them. I didn’t hear any noise,” he observed.

Mrs. House added, “Everyone was fully attentive. It was just wonderful. I’m glad we were here.”

Reporting by Yang Jie and Masha Savitz