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Mr. and Mrs. Owings bought tickets months ago to the Shen Yun Performing Arts show at Jones Hall on Dec. 24, in Houston. (Catherine Yang/The Epoch Times)
HOUSTON—A lively audience cheered for encores and a second curtain call at Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s Christmas Eve matinee at Jones Hall in Houston. They were impressed with the colorful visuals and cultural depth.
Chris Munoz, vice president of Enrollment at Rice University, attended the performance with his wife.
“I love it, it’s wonderful. The dancing is so fabulous, the discipline and athleticism of the dancers,” Mr. Munoz said.
Mrs. Munoz agreed and thought the struggle for freedom of expression, depicted in some of the dances related to current events in China, were very impressive.
“It’s very rich,” Mr. Munoz said. “It’s a very rich culture obviously.”
‘A gift to the world’
Ms. Ann Chatterjee attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts Saturday matinee at Jones Hall, in Houston. (Kerry Huang/The Epoch Times)
Also in the audience was Ms. Ann Chatterjee, who was deeply moved with the New York-based company’s mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
“This was one of the most wonderful shows I’ve ever seen. The choreography, the color, the costumes, the dance quality was absolutely exquisite. And I’m really glad that this ancient tradition, which is fast dying, this group is trying to keep alive,” Ms. Chatterjee said.
She said it would be a shame to lose thousands of years of tradition and culture, and felt Shen Yun’s message was an important one not only for China to see, but the rest of the world as well.
“It’s actually a gift to the world. This is an awesome show. It was, in a way, fit for the gods, it was that good,” Ms. Chatterjee said.
“Through the art you can see the culture, you can see the deep spiritual culture, and I think it’s a very nice portrayal of China, now what we always hear about the communism. All that apart, these are people of China, this is their culture, their history,” Ms. Chatterjee said.
The sentiment was shared by Mr. Lindsey Owings, retired from the navy, and his wife, Mrs. Sue Owings.
“That type of oppression, I don’t think people really get a good look at,” Mr. Owings said. He said for “such an old culture like that,” he hoped the show “woke a few folks up to what’s going on in the world.”
The couple said they had heard about the show months ago, and couldn’t wait to see it. Mrs. Owings said just the trailer she’d seen online made her cry, and the show in its entirety was “really intense.”
“Oh, it was breathtaking, just breathtaking. Tears—very emotional, very passionate,” Mrs. Owings said, adding that the passion of the dancers was evident in the performance.
“The intense emotion on the actors’ faces, they’re really passionate about what they do, it’s wonderful,” Mrs. Owings said.
“I’d like to bring my grandkids back next year. I want to share it with the family.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Catherine Yang.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at Houston’s Jones Hall through Tuesday, Dec. 27. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
