CHICAGO—“We thought it was divine,” said Michael Gonzalez. “As the word Shen Yun means.”
Mr. Gonzalez, an account manager for Molex, his wife, Sandy, and daughter, Rachel, were referring to Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company’s performance at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theater on May 11. “Yes! It was very, very, very nice,” Mrs. Gonzalez said.
Shen Yun takes the audience through 5,000 years of culture from ancient times to the present, bringing to life beloved myths, legends and history. It does so with short story-based dance dramas and opera-style soloist performances.
“The choreography was beautiful; the costumes were excellent; the music, it was very nice,” said Mrs. Gonzalez, who works in the software quality assurance field. “Very graceful, the dancing was nice, very excellent stories—Chinese folklore and ancient China.”
At the heart of a Shen Yun performance is classical Chinese dance. According to the Shen Yun website: “Classical Chinese dance has its own training in basic skills, physical expression and postures, leaps, flips, spins and other difficult tumbling techniques, forming an extensive and independent dance system.”
Mr. Gonzalez stated that the dancers were wonderful, and very energetic.
The New York-based company’s performances are accompanied by a live orchestra which seamlessly blends Eastern and Western sounds. The Shen Yun Orchestra has a Western philharmonic foundation with Chinese instruments like the dizi—wooden flute—and pipa leading the melodies, according to Shen Yun’s website.
“I like that very much. The contemporary sound with Chinese characteristics,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
Mrs. Gonzalez expressed that the dancers were beautiful. “I love them,” she said.
Shen Yun dancers are adorned with vividly colorful, handmade costumes, head pieces and other accessories. “The wardrobe was wonderful as well, very colorful,” Mr. Gongzalez said. “I love the costumes,” said his daughter, who is in a choir and loves the arts.
Rachel particularly enjoyed Shen Yun’s solo vocalists who sing in the bel canto style. “I thought it was captivating really, how they did that,” she said.
“We recommend it very highly,” Mr. Gonzalez said.
“We thought it was a good show.” Mrs. Gonzalez said.
Reporting by Teresa Liu and Cat Rooney
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.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
