SAN JOSE, Calif.—“It’s amazing,” said Apple engineer Francesco Ferretti of Shen Yun Performing Arts. “The colors, the choreography ... it’s really, really amazing.”
“Breathtaking,” said construction engineer Eleonora Cappelletti, who attended Shen Yun with Ferretti.
They experienced Shen Yun, the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company, at the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, California, on Dec. 21.
They both commented on the energy they could sense from the dancers.
“It’s a lot of energy ... it’s incredible,” said Ferretti. The overall presentation was so perfect, he said, that the meaning of the stories and periods the performers were trying to convey was immediately clear. “You can feel it.”
“But let me say it’s a quiet energy, because I see the dancers tumbling and jumping, but they are all quiet. ... They’re floating,” said Cappelletti.
Shen Yun is based in New York. Through its productions of classical Chinese dance, Chinese ethnic and folk dances, and live orchestral music, the company aims to bring traditional Chinese culture to life for today’s audiences.
Cappelletti was impressed by the jumping and tumbling techniques that are part of classical Chinese dance.
“You see all this tumbling, and ... it’s so elegant and quiet,” she said.
Ferretti was especially impressed by the live orchestra that accompanies the dancers. Shen Yun’s unique orchestra is composed of both Chinese and Western musical instruments.
Cappelletti, who plays the flute, was amazed by the music in Shen Yun.
“It’s so perfect,” she said.
Besides instrumental music, Shen Yun performances also include solo singers who use the traditional technique known as bel canto. According to the company’s website, bel canto was once used in both European opera and in ancient Chinese theater, and it is thought to produce the purest sound. However, this ancient technique was lost and now being revitalized in Shen Yun performances.
“To me [the singing is] so interesting, because it’s so different from what I’ve heard before,” said Cappelletti. “The timbre, to me, is really impressive. ... I love it.”
“Very clear voice and incredible volume,” said Ferretti.
“You can feel his voice,” said Cappelletti.
