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The historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (The Epoch Times)
LOS ANGELES—A sold-out performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the historic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Jan. 26 pleased Bill Collins, president and CEO of Collins Craft construction company. He said he loved it.
“The show was beautiful and I enjoyed it very much,” said Mr. Collins.
New York-based Shen Yun uses “the universal language of music and dance” to uplift and inspire the audience with beautiful scenes of “heavenly realms, ancient legends, and heroic modern-day epics,” according to the company’s website.
“A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending the sounds of both East and West, breathtaking backdrops, splendid costumes, vocalists—together creating an experience that’s leaving millions in awe,” says the website.
Mr. Collins particularly enjoyed the energetic movements of the dancers, such as flips, jumps and other feats of flexibility by both the men and the women. These moves originate with classical Chinese dance.
The orchestra, which combines a Western philharmonic foundation with traditional Chinese instruments, also impressed Mr. Collins. “The orchestra was fantastic,” he said. “I noticed it was a mix of people from all over the world.”
Handmade costumes and props enhance the dancers’ movements, which Mr. Collins said made the dances even more graceful and added to the overall performance. He also said he had never seen a theatrical performance use an interactive backdrop to make performers appear to go in and out of the screen. “It was very creative and very nice,” he said.
Mr. Collins’ daughter Emily is Chinese and from Nanjing, and she attended Shen Yun with him. Mr. Collins said he is very fond of Chinese history, people and the country, and the performance gave him even more insight into Chinese culture.
Mr. Collins encouraged those who had not seen Shen Yun yet to come enjoy the experience. He said the performance reminded him of the best times in his life.
“The times when I am most peaceful and I am most happy would relate to the feeling of the dancing and the show, and the beauty, and the music,” he said.
Reporting by Jana Li, Lu Rusong, and Sarah Le.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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