LOS ANGELES–Karen Bergamo and her husband attended Shen Yun Performing Arts, which was sold out Friday evening at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Karen is an administrative coordinator at CSU Northridge, and her husband is retired.
“It’s beautiful, very poetic. Flowing,” she said, while her husband also expressed deep enjoyment for the show: “I love the dancing, the motion, choreography,” he said. “The culture is very interesting. Intoxicating.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is unique in its performance, featuring not only skilled performers and an orchestra, but also combining a digital backdrop which seamlessly fuses together the background scenes and the performance onstage.
“I liked the way the characters came out of the screen onto the stage; a beautiful transition,” Karen said. “It’s just gorgeous. I’m very impressed.”
Her husband enjoyed the dance called How the Monkey King Came To Be. “The little monkey in the tree, I liked him there,” he expressed heartily.
Along with the dancing and music, Shen Yun bases its performances and song lyrics on traditional Chinese values such as honor, truth, and wisdom.
“Very moving. Very moving,” Karen’s husband said. He was brought to tears when reflecting upon a piece called The Choice.
The dance depicts a young man torn between his conscience and orders from the police to persecute his friend, a practitioner of Falun Gong, which is a peaceful spiritual practice based upon the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance. Ultimately the man makes the sacrifice to protect his friend at the cost of his life.
“Everywhere we have that same thing. We have so much of that in the world and it really got to me,” he explained. Karen patted her husband on the back, consoling him.
Shen Yun is unique in that it touches audiences on a deep level. Many audience members have expressed being moved to tears from both joy and sorrow while watching.
Reporting by Flora Ge and Albert Roman.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will next perform in San Diego through Jan. 22.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
