SAN FRANCISCO—“It’s spectacular,” said Mr. Art Agnos, former mayor of San Francisco, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts for the second year with his family at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, Jan. 11.
“We’re honored to have Shen Yun in our city,” Mr. Agnos said. “They’re absolutely beautiful and we’re honored to have them here.”
As soon as Mr. Agnos heard New York-based Shen Yun was returning to San Francisco, he said, he and his family were among the first to buy tickets.
“This time we brought more friends because it was so beautiful last year,” Mr. Agnos said.
Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the universal languages of music and dance, and for Mr. Agnos, who has long loved the Chinese culture, the performance was the perfect family event.
“San Francisco has always respected different cultures and one of the most prominent is the Chinese culture, and we’ve all learned a great deal from our Chinese neighbors as well as our relationships with friends from China,” Mr. Agnos said.
China was once called the land of the divine, with its culture said to be inspired by the heavens, but under the current communist regime, the culture was once nearly lost.
To his friends and fellow San Franciscans who haven’t seen Shen Yun, Mr. Agnos said, “I would urge them to come and see a very important part of Chinese culture.”
“If they don’t know anything about it, they’re going to learn a great deal,” he said. “And if they do know a great deal about it they are going to learn even more.”
“I’ve learned a great deal over the many years and this is just extraordinary, new, and part of it, that is very colorful, very beautiful and we’re delighted with it,” Mr. Agnos said.
Shen Yun’s dances and stories took the audience on a journey through the dynasties and regions of China, with dances showing the heavenly dress of the Tang Dynasty, Manchurian princesses of the 17th century, and the vibrant Yao village.
The Mongolian Chopsticks dance to show hospitality, for instance, had stuck out in Mr. Agnos’ mind.
“I thought that the dance was beautiful and how they played with the chopsticks was very impressive,” Mr. Agnos said.
The performance also included mini-dramas telling stories from ancient legends to modern-day pieces, bel canto soloists singing original Chinese compositions, and an orchestra blending traditional Chinese instruments into a full Western symphony.
“I congratulate Shen Yun again for bringing San Francisco a magnificent performance with beautiful colors, wonderful orchestra and music, and we are very luck to have them here,” Mr. Agnos said.
Reporting by NTD Television and Catherine Yang
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
