SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco said goodbye to Shen Yun Performing Arts with a sell-out performance Sunday afternoon at the War Memorial Opera House.
Two women lucky enough to have tickets to the final of seven performances were artist Lynn Roth and her granddaughter, dance student Paige Carlson Scardino.
“It was flawless. It was really beautiful,” said Ms. Roth of the artistic presentation. Ms. Roth, herself an artist and a children’s art teacher, was also struck by the colors, creativity, and beauty.
“I was not really knowing what to expect,” said Ms. Roth. “I liked it very much.”
For both women, it was their first time seeing Shen Yun.
Ms. Scardino, who will be transferring from San Jose to the University of Nevada, Los Vegas, as a dance major, was captivated by what she saw.
“It was fantastic. We came here with an open mind not really knowing what to expect, and I was definitely blown away. Everything was fantastic,” she said.
“I, being more in tune with modern and ballet and jazz—the form of dance was really intriguing. It was awesome. And the use of props was fantastic,” she added.
Shen Yun is considered the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. It was founded with the mission of reviving the purest form of this unique dance system, along with “5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture,” as it’s expressed on their website.
“What struck me most is how much more nimble and acrobatic the men were. I mean the women did fantastic dancing, but at my school there’s not a lot of men who dance, and seeing a flock of guys who dance perfectly—it was really neat,” said the dancer.
“Specifically, their barrel rolls and their turns and everything was just fantastic.”
“Everything was my favorite,” she said. “Their techniques were spot on. I mean, their toes were pointed, their legs were perfectly straight, their stage presence was phenomenal. Like my grandmother said, it was flawless.”
Reporting by Youzhi Ma and Cindy Drukier.
Shen Yun’s New York Company will continue on to Costa Mesa and then Los Angeles, starting January 11. Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
