LOS ANGELES—Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company brought China’s traditional culture to life on stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Friday night, Jan. 13, in this season’s first show in the city.
Among the luminaries in the audience was Al Machera, owner and CEO of Westlake Recording Studios, which has recorded some of the biggest names in the music industry over the last 30 years. He also does music for many of the major action movie trailers, as well as for movies themselves.
Mr. Machera attended the performance with his family, and spoke with The Epoch Times at intermission.
“So far it’s amazing,” he said of the performance. “Both visually and the composition, and the stories that they’re telling through the choreography is just amazing.”
Shen Yun takes as its mission to revive China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture, portraying ancient tales and scenes from history through the medium of classical Chinese dance, an art form that has been passed down and developed over millennia.
“You could tell that just so much work has been put into this, from just their movement, the flips, turns, everything that they’ve done—is just amazing,” he said of the classical Chinese dance.
“It’s really entertaining, I really love the way it’s put together,” he said.
Supporting the dances is a large digital backdrop that brings each story to life.
“I love the way they transition between the screen and the real life, where the characters become real. It’s pretty ingenious,” he said, referring to how some dances are integrated with the screen where it looks like the performers leap from the screen, or sometimes, leap onto it.
“The backdrop is great, because it’s so versatile,” Mr. Machera said.
“I really enjoyed the costumes,” he added, “in particular the one with the lotus leaves—very ingenious the way they did that.
“You know, some of it is just traditional dress, but the way they’re actually incorporating the costumes into works of art, that with the movement and the wardrobe put together, it’s really amazing.”
“Shen Yun’s costume artists collect countless designs of traditional attire, ranging from those of emperors, ministers, and generals to the everyday clothing of the common people. They use bright colors to tailor and recreate hundreds of new pieces each season. Every detail is given meticulous attention and is a result of artistic inspiration and careful polishing,” says Shen Yun’s website.
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.
“That was very powerful, very powerful,” said Mr. Machera of the dance about Falun Dafa. (also called Falun Gong)
“I have my two children with me,” he said, “and without trying to talk through the program, I was trying to explain to them, at least my son, what was going on during that scene. So it’s really cool to be entertained and also have a little piece of history you can take away from here, and research it a little more, and explain it to them.”
Reporting by Robin Kemker and Ben Bendig.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at The Music Center through Jan. 14.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
