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Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in downtown Los Angeles (The Epoch Times)
LOS ANGELES—After seeing the colors of the costumes in Shen Yun Performing Arts in an advertisement, Ms. Elizabeth Georgeon knew she wanted to go see the performance. But she wasn’t quite sure what she would be seeing.
“I just knew that I wanted to go,” she said. “And it lived up to everything that I could imagine.”
Ms. Georgeon, an attorney who used to own her own firm, and her companion for the evening, Ms. Beatrice Cirar, retired from the insurance industry, found Shen Yun a gratifying way to spend an evening, seeing the performance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Saturday.
New York-based Shen Yun crisscrosses the globe, reviving the 5,000-year-old, divinely inspired Chinese culture, according to the company’s website.
“We are artists from around the world united by a shared mission,” states the website. “We came together in New York and set out to revive a lost heritage. Our greatest joy comes from sharing this passion with the world.”
Classical Chinese dance is the core of the performance, accentuated by ethnic and folk dance, state-of-the-art digital backdrops, and an orchestra that melds classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments.
Yet it was the colors in the performance—including on the backdrops, but also with the handmade costumes—that caught the attention of Ms. Georgeon.
“I noticed they were using the same palate in the first few acts; it was not pastel by any means, but bright pinks, but there were no reds, purple, or forest greens,” she said. “Then in the second half, all those colors came out.”
Many audience members have difficulty finding a ‘favorite’ piece. “From the beginning to the end, I enjoyed every one of them,” said Ms. Georgeon. “Each one was different.”
Ms. Georgeon was very pleased with the attention to detail Shen Yun applied in colors and their application to the subtitles. She said, “I love the subtitles being in blue rather than in white; you could read them and it was not intrusive—very effective.”
Ms. Georgeon noticed the energy projected by the male and female dancers. “The males were more energetic and the females were light and supple. The males played more manly roles such as fighters—really accomplished performers.”
According to Shen Yun’s website, “Among the most impressive elements of any Shen Yun show are the large-scale ensemble pieces in which dozens of dancers appear to move as one body across the stage.”
Reporting by Albert Roman and Robin Kemker.
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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