HOUSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company performed its last show in Houston in front of a full house, at Jones Hall, on Dec. 27.
Ms. Shannon Heath, a competitive dancer and dance teacher, found the traditional Chinese dances she saw to be inspiring.
“I absolutely loved it, I loved it. It’s different from stuff I’ve ever seen, but I’m going to work on it,” Ms. Heath said with a laugh.
The dance, Sleeves of Silk, particularly caught her eye. She found the female dancers with long, flowing “water sleeves”, used to express their inner emotions, to be a unique use of costuming and props.
“The silk sleeves were a lot of fun because they popped them up, and brought them back down! I’m actually a competitive dancer so we use props sometimes, and I’ve never seen any props used like that,” Ms. Heath said. “It was a lot of fun to watch … I’m going to try to do something with sleeves.”
Ms. Heath attended the show with her mother Mrs. Pam Heath, and friends Mr. Gene Stansbery and Mrs. Eileen Stansbery.
Mrs. Stansbery was also amazed at how the props were used. Her attention had been drawn to the fans used in the Qing Imperial Guards by the male dancers, and the very different full-circle fans, resembling large, soft lotus leaves, used by the female dancers in the dance Lotus Leaves.
She added that the way the male and female dancers expressed their roles was different. The male dancers did more leaps and jumps, and the female dancers “small, controlled movements” but the gestures seemed to have the same level of difficulty as the flips and leaps.
“The athleticism was incredible. The way the dancers moved and the control that they had was spectacular. And the hang time on those jumps!” Mrs. Stansbery said. “It was exciting and inspirational.”
“I felt happy, and it just made me wonder how it all happened,” Ms. Heath said of the performances.
“I liked the stories they all told, it’s like a movie … it was easier to follow. There was a purpose for each movement. It wasn’t just put on stage—there was a purpose, and it was telling a story,” Ms. Heath said.
Mrs. Stansbery said the stories had themes of good versus evil, and added that she hadn’t realized that it had played such a part in the Chinese culture.
Ms. Heath agreed and said she was not aware of the persecution of belief, in present-day China, but she was intrigued and wanted to learn more about it.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will next perform at The Long Center, Austin, Dec. 29 - 30.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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