San Francisco - Michelle Privette, a former dancer for the San Francisco Ballet, saw the seventh and final show in San Francisco of Shen Yun Performing Arts Thursday evening. She was impressed with what she saw.
“This is absolutely fantastic — absolutely gorgeous,” she said. “Very, very difficult choreography and lots and lots of training, so it’s really nice.”
Shen Yun is a New York-based dance and music company that features classical Chinese dance, which has its own distinct set of training methods in foundational skills, according to its website. Shen Yun’s performers train year-round, and it shows.
Ms. Privette said, “The detail with the fingers; the detail with the hands - and the hands and everything is very, very precise. That’s why I love it. It’s just excellent.”
She noted that the costumes are beautiful, and she liked hearing the two emcees speak in both English and Chinese to explain the tradition, background, and significance of each performance. “I liked that. So you get more of the culture, more of the story behind the dancing, too,” she said.
Ms. Privette did have one wish: “I’m sorry my family’s not here. I would love my kids to see it. It’s very, very emotional, very moving.”
She gave an example of one scene involving the animated backdrops Shen Yun uses to produce scenes that complement the performance. “So you have the gods coming down [on the backdrop] and then all of a sudden them walking onto the stage. That’s really nice. So there’s spirituality about this — there’s a humanity that’s melded in with the art — that’s really nice. It’s not just, ‘I’m dancing.’ It’s passionate dancing. I like that, too,” she said.
According to its website, Shen Yun dancers take to heart an ancient Chinese belief; that to create true art, there must first be inner beauty. Ms. Privette valued this type of depth and spirituality. She said, “It’s very, very important. It’s very, very important.”
She said that she would tell her friends that the show is “just fantastic — it’s just absolutely fantastic. If you’ve never seen dance before, you should see this.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts will perform at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Friday through Sunday, January 8 through 10.
For more information, visit shenyunperformingarts.org
“This is absolutely fantastic — absolutely gorgeous,” she said. “Very, very difficult choreography and lots and lots of training, so it’s really nice.”
Shen Yun is a New York-based dance and music company that features classical Chinese dance, which has its own distinct set of training methods in foundational skills, according to its website. Shen Yun’s performers train year-round, and it shows.
Ms. Privette said, “The detail with the fingers; the detail with the hands - and the hands and everything is very, very precise. That’s why I love it. It’s just excellent.”
She noted that the costumes are beautiful, and she liked hearing the two emcees speak in both English and Chinese to explain the tradition, background, and significance of each performance. “I liked that. So you get more of the culture, more of the story behind the dancing, too,” she said.
Ms. Privette did have one wish: “I’m sorry my family’s not here. I would love my kids to see it. It’s very, very emotional, very moving.”
She gave an example of one scene involving the animated backdrops Shen Yun uses to produce scenes that complement the performance. “So you have the gods coming down [on the backdrop] and then all of a sudden them walking onto the stage. That’s really nice. So there’s spirituality about this — there’s a humanity that’s melded in with the art — that’s really nice. It’s not just, ‘I’m dancing.’ It’s passionate dancing. I like that, too,” she said.
According to its website, Shen Yun dancers take to heart an ancient Chinese belief; that to create true art, there must first be inner beauty. Ms. Privette valued this type of depth and spirituality. She said, “It’s very, very important. It’s very, very important.”
She said that she would tell her friends that the show is “just fantastic — it’s just absolutely fantastic. If you’ve never seen dance before, you should see this.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts will perform at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Friday through Sunday, January 8 through 10.
For more information, visit shenyunperformingarts.org
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