SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Dallas Audience Member: Shen Yun’s ‘Artistry, the Costumes Are Fantastic’

Jan 13, 2015
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Dallas Audience Member: Shen Yun’s ‘Artistry, the Costumes Are Fantastic’
Ann Holtby (R) and Kim Horton (L) at the Winspear Opera House on Jan. 11, 2015. (John Chang/Epoch Times)

DALLAS—Seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts had been on Kim Horton’s “to do list” for a few years. And she and her friend Ann Holtby were immensely impressed with the performance they saw with their children on Jan. 11, at the Winspear Opera House.

“The artistry, the costumes are fantastic, the precision of the dancers are fantastic, and in general it’s very enjoyable,” Ms. Holtby said. Ms. Holtby has served on the board of directors of a community learning center for disadvantaged youth.

Ms. Horton, who specializes in marketing and educational consulting, said the performance was beautiful and educational.

“I love to see the history of the dance and how so much of what we do in the West has been extracted from these dance performances. I think it’s just divine,” she said.

The Shen Yun website explains that many of the flips and other challenging tumbling moves that we see in gymnastics and acrobatics today, actually have their origin in classical Chinese dance.

Classical Chinese dance is at the heart of what Shen Yun does. The mission of the New York-based company is to revive 5,000 years of authentic Chinese culture through the performing arts.

According to the Shen Yun website, “Classical Chinese dance is a culture left to us by the ancients who came before us, its beauty should be riches shared by all of humanity.”

And much more than just challenging dance techniques, in Shen Yun “one discovers a sea of traditional Chinese culture. Mortals and divine beings merge on stage as one. Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution, all come to life,” the website explains.

Ms. Horton appreciated the depiction of culture in Shen Yun.

“We’re very into the Eastern culture so we feel that the thinking—behind, for instance, the Compassion show—I thought that was beautiful and it’s so pertinent today,” Ms. Horton said.

The piece she was referring to, The Power of Compassion, is a dance story set in modern China depicting courage and kindness in the face of repression.

“I thought that was very powerful,” she said.

Reporting by John Chang

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.

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