LOS ANGELES—Shen Yun played its opening performance, Friday night, at Los Angeles’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to a full house. The audience gave a warm west coast welcome to this eminent group of artists.
“I’ve enjoyed it very much this evening,” said David Brumer, a Los Angeles realtor.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is based out of New York with three companies touring the globe six months of the year. It’s dedicated to the revitalization of China’s ancient culture and bringing to the stage outstanding choreography, original musical scores, colorful and beautifully detailed costumes, and world-accomplished soloists.
What most impressed Mr. Brumer was the dance, The Choice.
“The dance … was beautiful and very moving,” he said.
Shen Yun draws upon China’s 5,000 years of culture, including human rights stories depicting the persecution of Falun Gong, an ancient mind-body practice that is still persecuted in China today.
Since the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), ancient China’s cultural traditions have been largely destroyed, with generations since having little knowledge of their ancestral culture. Shen Yun imparts the essence of this lost culture on stage and engages the audience.
Mr. Brumer learned something new about Chinese culture.
“I had read a bit about that … I found it fascinating to watch it acted out,” he said. “I think for this country it’s a very good thing, because we don’t get very much of this here, so it’s nice to be able to see it. … Chinese moves [classical dance] were very lovely. I’m just very happy to be here.”
In one of the dance pieces, the Qing Imperial Guards brandish fans as weapons, symbolizing a spirit of power, self-respect, and perfection.
With Mr. Brumer was his daughter Esme Brumer, a 9th grade high school student. “I think it’s fantastic. I really like it. I think … how they use the fans in their dance was really beautiful.”
Julie Xu and Jared Madsen, masters of ceremonies, introduced each segment both in English and Chinese. In addition, the songs performed by soprano Chia-ning Hsu and tenor Tian Ge, were written on the digitally mastered backdrops in English.
As a student studying in the U.S. Ms. Brumer said, “I’ve been picking up a few words [Chinese] and it’s really great to piece it together and look at the culture as well as the language.”
Ms. Brumer compared what she learned at the performance to the traditional classroom setting, “It’s a lot more interactive and it’s a good way to kind of connect what I’ve learned in class with how they use words in sentences and how to listen to someone fluent in Chinese.”
Her sister Masha Brumer a college student majoring in pre-med, offered her opinion of the evening’s performance: “I think it’s spectacular, I’m really enjoying it.”
She said she would recommend the show to her friends, and thinks young people would appreciate the performance.
“Oh yes, because it’s so beautiful and so much fun to watch. … graceful, fun, and also educational. We get a taste of Chinese culture through this show so it’s really nice.”
She adds, “I’m really enjoying it.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at Doris Chandler Pavilion - The Music Center through Jan. 14.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
