ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—David and Gloria McEwen remarked on the long history of the Chinese culture, a treasure that New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts is bringing back through its world tours.
At the Mahaffey Theater in the Progress Energy Center, April 26, Mr. and Mrs. McEwen were able to experience a genuine expression of traditional Chinese culture, presented to a full house, without having to travel back in time to China.
According to the Shen Yun website, Chinese culture is “the only culture in the world to have a continuously recorded history of 5,000 years.” “It has left behind countless literary classics, historical documents, cultural relics, and national records reflecting its immense scope.”
Mr. McEwen, a lawyer in private practice, was happy Shen Yun is bringing China’s ancient culture to this country.
He described the Shen Yun dancing as extraordinary and said that he and his wife were watching the dancers’ feet. “The concentration of the dancers on their feet and their arms and their faces, all at once—it’s beautiful,” Mr. McEwen said.
“Classical Chinese dance has three main components—bearing, form and technical skill,” Shen Yun’s website states. Bearing refers to the inner spirit behind the movements. Form encompasses the techniques and methods expressed through the movements, and technical skill refers to a series of highly difficult techniques.
Mrs. McEwen remarked on the colors—“so bright and vibrant.” “It’s a pleasure to see all the colors swirling around,” she said.
“Every costume in a Shen Yun performance is presented with brilliant colors, displaying a splendid spectacle,“ the company website states. The costume artists create hundreds of new pieces each season. ”Their objective is an authentic presentation of the attire that comes from China’s divinely inspired traditional culture, and a consummate stage effect.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company, one of Shen Yun’s three touring companies, is performing in Florida. It will perform three more times in St. Petersburg—including a Saturday and Sunday afternoon performance, as well as a Saturday night performance—before traveling on to West Palm Beach and Melbourne.
Reporting by Teresa Liu and Adam Miller
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. 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.
