PHILADELPHIA—Shen Yun Performing Arts played its first show at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia on Friday night, leaving theater-goers in awe.
Michael Houldin, the senior director of Internal Communications at TE Connectivity, a global provider of electronic components, was in the audience.
“I think this is fabulous, I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Mr. Houldin said. “The costumes are amazing. The color, the music, the dancing—it was just a big surprise for me. I’m glad that I’m here.”
Shen Yun, a performing arts company based in New York, was created in 2006 to revive “5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture,” according to the company’s website. Costumes are an integral part of this mission and the designers handcraft traditional Chinese attire as well as the dress of various ethnic groups in China.
“I know it’s about the history of China, and I’m learning about the China that I never knew before. So it’s opened my eyes to things that I didn’t know before,” Mr. Houldin said.
The company says Shen Yun has drawn upon the great array of Chinese history that has been passed down since ancient times. Through this, the traditional values of China’s culture, including benevolence, honor, propriety, and others are able to be transmitted via the performance.
“My mind is opened,” Mr. Houldin said, referring to the overall effect Shen Yun had on him.
Reporting by Sally Sun and Jack Phillips
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will perform at The Merriam Theater, in Philadelphia through Jan. 8.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
