DALLAS—The Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company brought the second night of its world tour through the light and glass walls of the Winspear Opera House in the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas on Saturday, Dec. 17.
It was as though Pritzker prize-winning architect Norman Foster had designed the horse-shoe theatre specially for these performances of classical Chinese dance, bel canto song and combined Chinese and Western orchestra.
Garnet Gilbreath, a teacher of modern and contemporary dance, said of the performance, “Oh, fantastic.”
She said the company was obviously very classically trained and had great technique.
Her friend, Dustin Lancaster, who saw the show with her, said the costumes were very ornate.
Ms. Gilbreath agreed, saying: “Very much so. And the design of the staging, the design of how they integrate towards each other is fantastic. The choreography is fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was very interesting and it gives an awesome technology-modern flair.”
Mr. Lancaster, a graphic designer, said he was reminded of a kind of tapestry art when he saw the animated background scenes projected behind the dancers.
He thought the costumes were beautiful. “I really enjoyed their selection of colors in the show and the dance really much,” he said.
There was a sense that they were both absorbed by the spectacle, with Ms. Gilbreath saying, “I felt giddy,” and Mr Lancaster, “Yeah, I caught myself really smiling and getting into it.”
Each dance, song and solo instrumental performance is introduced by two emcees, a man in Western evening suit and a woman in traditional Chinese costume, speaking both English and Chinese. Ms. Gilbreath said the emcees helped them understand the stories depicted in the dances.
She loved the variety and the use of props. “Of course, being a dancer, props are nice,” she said.
“The props were great,” said Mr. Lancaster, “from the silk … to the fans.”
Almost wordlessly, they both commented on the sleeves which in some dances extend several yards and are used by the dancers to produce swirling, colorful patterns.
“The scarves, the sleeves, they were fantastic,” Ms. Gilbreath said.
Mr. Lancaster agreed, saying, “The sleeves—the sleeves were great.”
With reporting by Catherine Yang and Damian Robin.
Shen Yun will perform at Winspear Opera House through Sunday, Dec. 18. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
