DALLAS—Keith Hinton, vice president of FC Background, felt a unique closeness to the culture he'd just experienced watching Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Jan. 2.
“It was fantastic,” said Mr. Hinton, whose mother and grandparents are from China. “The history is most interesting; I just enjoy history.”
The New York-based Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the performing arts, and the journey through the different dynasties was a treat for Mr. Hinton.
Mr. Hinton, a former U.S. Navy pilot, has been with FC Background since the company’s inception in 2001. FC Background has helped in the construction of numerous Texas projects exceeding $1 billion, such as the Dallas Independent School District and the Dallas Cowboy Stadium.
“The different dynasties, and how the country came together from different countries and then united into one country—I think that’s most interesting,” Mr. Hinton said.
In the dance Tang Imperial Drummers, soon-to-be emperor Tang Taizhong led a group of imperial drummers ahead of his army outside the palace walls, ushering in what would come to be known as China’s golden age.
“It was a wonderful experience to see how the culture came together, and it was just really beautiful,” Mr. Hinton said.
Mr. Hinton said his grandparents and great grandparents are Chinese, but that he’s had little chance to learn about the culture as much as he’s wanted.
“But seeing it and all the performers, and not just dancing but acting, was really cool,” he said.
Mr. Hinton said he wanted to thank the performers for educating their audiences on traditional culture.
“They were so good; they could be doing many things very culturally in the arts, but they decided to do something that’s also very educational. So we thank them,” Mr. Hinton said. “It’s got to be passion.”
Reporting by Amy Hu and Catherine Yang
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
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.
