LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—For the third year in a row, Shen Yun visited this historic city with a special place in the annals of human rights. The company drew an audience of artists, community leaders and professionals, including the Executive Director of The Arkansas Symphony. Christina Littlejohn and her daughter Jubilee Leenhouts attended with friends, including Jubilee’s best friend from preschool.
Ms. Littlejohn said: “I think the orchestra is great. I think the show is great. Absolutely fabulous. I like the mix, the costumes, the scenery. I love the classical music. I love the classical art.”
She was chosen to lead the symphony after a nationwide search. “We feel fortunate to have identified and recruited someone with the depth of leadership and industry experience Christina brings,” said ASO Board Chair Michael Shelley in a press release.
During intermission, while Jubilee and best pal Kai Fischer wriggled under their seats, Ms. Littlejohn said, “my child is thoroughly enjoying it, she just can’t keep still!”
She said, “I love the idea of moving through the history of China, and doing it with classical music and art.”
Shen Yun brings to the stage 5,000 years of China, from ancient times to the present, portrayed in classical Chinese music and dance by gorgeously costumed dancers complemented with hi-tech digital backdrops and a full orchestra playing a fusion of Eastern and Western music.
Little Rock sits on the banks of the Arkansas River, and was named for an outcropping of stone which marked a place to cross. According to archaeological records, the area was settled by Native American tribes thousands of years ago. The Cherokee, Quapaw, Choctaw, Osage, Folsom and Caddo people lived there.
The city is the state capitol and the most populous city in the mostly agrarian region.
Little Rock was the scene of a crucial moment in the early Civil Rights movement, when nine African-American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Brown versus Board of Education had declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954. The new law was widely ignored. On what would have been their first day of de-segregating the school, Arkansas National Guardsmen blocked them on the governor’s orders. Mobs threatened them.
President Dwight Eisenhower ultimately sent Army troops to Little Rock and also ordered the Arkansas National Guard to become a federal entity, so that they no longer were under the command of the segregationist governor.
The students persevered and the school where they courageously stood for their rights is now an historic site with a Civil Rights Museum commemorating the events of 1957.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Ms. Littlejohn said: “I think the orchestra is great. I think the show is great. Absolutely fabulous. I like the mix, the costumes, the scenery. I love the classical music. I love the classical art.”
She was chosen to lead the symphony after a nationwide search. “We feel fortunate to have identified and recruited someone with the depth of leadership and industry experience Christina brings,” said ASO Board Chair Michael Shelley in a press release.
During intermission, while Jubilee and best pal Kai Fischer wriggled under their seats, Ms. Littlejohn said, “my child is thoroughly enjoying it, she just can’t keep still!”
She said, “I love the idea of moving through the history of China, and doing it with classical music and art.”
Shen Yun brings to the stage 5,000 years of China, from ancient times to the present, portrayed in classical Chinese music and dance by gorgeously costumed dancers complemented with hi-tech digital backdrops and a full orchestra playing a fusion of Eastern and Western music.
Little Rock sits on the banks of the Arkansas River, and was named for an outcropping of stone which marked a place to cross. According to archaeological records, the area was settled by Native American tribes thousands of years ago. The Cherokee, Quapaw, Choctaw, Osage, Folsom and Caddo people lived there.
The city is the state capitol and the most populous city in the mostly agrarian region.
Little Rock was the scene of a crucial moment in the early Civil Rights movement, when nine African-American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Brown versus Board of Education had declared school segregation unconstitutional in 1954. The new law was widely ignored. On what would have been their first day of de-segregating the school, Arkansas National Guardsmen blocked them on the governor’s orders. Mobs threatened them.
President Dwight Eisenhower ultimately sent Army troops to Little Rock and also ordered the Arkansas National Guard to become a federal entity, so that they no longer were under the command of the segregationist governor.
The students persevered and the school where they courageously stood for their rights is now an historic site with a Civil Rights Museum commemorating the events of 1957.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
