AUSTIN, Texas—The beauty of Shen Yun Performing Arts dancers brought 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to life on stage in front of a full house at The Long Center in Austin, on Dec. 29.
David Barstow, president of EMPACT Africa, and his wife Linda, attended the performance with Mr. Barstow’s mother for her 90th birthday because she had been born in China.
Linda said she loved the dancing, the athleticism of the dancers and the creativity of the props, and that it could only be found in Chinese dance.
The New York-based company, “Shen Yun,” which means “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” included classical Chinese dance as well as folk and ethnic dances. According to the company’s website, classical Chinese dance often includes difficult leaps and flips that seem similar to acrobatic or gymnastics, but are in fact the origin of such sports.
Mr. Barstow said he was impressed with “the precision, and the use of the props,” such as the unique, full-circle fans the female dancers used in Lotus Leaves, and their soft, flowing “water sleeves” in Sleeves of Silk.
“I just enjoyed the beauty of it,” Mr. Barstow said.
Mrs. Barstow senior said that Shen Yun’s digital backdrop impressed her, with the “people coming off the screen and appearing [on stage] as real live people,” in some of the dances. The animated backdrop not only transports the audiences to the different regions of China throughout the years, but allows the dancers to transition seamlessly from stage to screen as well.
Mrs. Barstow added that the show was educational as well as beautiful, that the stories told through the dances were interesting. She noted in particular that she had heard about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, which was addressed in the dance The Choice, and was sad that it was still happening in China but liked that it was made known through the performance.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at The Long Center, Austin, Dec. 29 and 30.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts
