Educator Says of Shen Yun: ‘I was very moved’

Shen Yun Performing Arts brought 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life on stage with its second performance at the Winspear Opera House to an enthusiastic audience in Dallas.
Educator Says of Shen Yun: ‘I was very moved’
Blessing Oghobaase (L) and La Barron Boudreaux (R) at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas on Dec. 17, for Shen Yun Performing Arts' second show of the 2012 world tour. (Catherine Yang/The Epoch Times)
Catherine Yang
12/17/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
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DALLAS—Shen Yun Performing Arts brought 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life on stage with its second performance at the Winspear Opera House to an enthusiastic audience in Dallas on Saturday evening, Dec. 17.

The New York-based company’s artful display of history impressed Mr. La Barron Boudreaux. Mr. Boudreaux worked as the Enrollment manager of the University of Phoenix before his current position of Director of Enrollment Services at Carrington College in Dallas.

“I thought it was a wonderful display, introducing Chinese art to the Dallas area and taking the history and bringing it forward, and also connecting some of these things to today in China,” Mr. Boudreaux said. “It’s a wondrous thing.”

This year’s performance line-up includes a theme of “good versus evil,” as pointed out by the emcees, from ancient Chinese legends to stories of current events in China, shown through classical Chinese dance.

“When you talk about the lines, the form, and how you adjusted to each other, it’s evident they did a lot of work to go ahead and bring forth this performance,” he said.

“It wasn’t just the theatrical or the visual—the auditory factor, what you were hearing, how it all came together.”

The Shen Yun Orchestra is made up of a unique blend of Chinese and classical Western instruments.

“I thought it was very nicely done,” Mr Boudreaux said of the orchestra. “Very nice. I was interested to see how they were going to blend some of the instruments that were relative or native to the performance, and also with classical theater.”

Mr. Boudreaux said the spiritual aspect of the culture was easy to relate to, and he loved how the stories were communicated through the performance.

“I was very moved,” he said, and noted that some of the vocalists’ lyrics about truth resonated with him. “I also saw some things about faith, and things that were going on socially, that there was still a fight to hold onto those cultural beliefs, and how those cultural beliefs can help overcome what’s going on at that time.”

Mr. Boudreaux said the range of themes in the performance made him think of the progression of life. From the dance Joyful Little Monks, a humorous piece showing the monks of a serene and secluded monastery finding joy in the little things and making fun out of a chore like tidying up the temple, to more serious themes of beliefs being persecuted in present-day China.

“You have to do something based on your convictions, based on your faith. Sometimes you have to go ahead and step out there, outside of what you can just see,” he said.

Mr. Boudreaux said Shen Yun was absolutely the kind of show he would watch again. “And I'd go ahead and recommend it to others to take a look at, to a lot of different people. Because it’s not only an introduction to Shen Yun, to the art … but also to dance, and some of the history of dance, and history of performance and the arts, and how all those things connect.”

Shen Yun will perform at Winspear Opera House through Sunday, Dec. 18. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org