DALLAS—Shen Yun Performing Arts took DSV Air & Sea Executive Vice President Ole Iversen on a journey “through the dynasties” opening night in Dallas at the Winspear Opera House, Jan. 2.
“I think these are all top performances. The artistry is very good,” Mr. Iversen said of New York-based Shen Yun.
Established in 2006, Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the universal languages of music and dance. The music of Shen Yun combines East and West, with solo vocalists singing original Chinese compositions in the bel canto style, and traditional Chinese instruments blended into a full Western symphony.
Shen Yun Orchestra, which just finished its first North America tour last year, was a highlight for Mr. Iversen.
“It’s all top notch,” Mr. Iversen said. “It is hard to just describe it in a few words.”
“I’m impressed. And it’s educational with the history lessons taking me through the dynasties,” said Mr. Iversen.
Also in the audience was Nick Morgan, a professor of political science with a personal and professional interest in China and its history.
“I’m going to take a lot of the lesson I learned tonight and take it directly to the classroom,” Mr. Morgan said. “I look forward to teaching my students more about China’s rich history.”
Mr. Morgan felt hopeful after seeing Shen Yun. Under the current communist regime, China had nearly lost its traditional culture and arts, but efforts like Shen Yun gave Mr. Morgan a sense of bigger changes to come.
“China has such a rich history and so many intelligent people that they can make up their minds for themselves, what they want to believe and what deity to believe in,” Mr. Morgan said. “There’s enough room for all of us in the world. And so I think that every time we send that message out it’s important for the entire world to see that we can all learn from one another and be tolerant of each other, too.”
What touched Mr. Morgan and his wife Carol personally in the performance was the vocal soloists. Translations for the lyrics were projected onto Shen Yun’s digital backdrop, but they could understand as well as feel the meanings of the songs, Mr. Morgan said.
“You can feel how emotional they were,” Mr. Morgan said. “It was very meaningful. You can tell that it was deep-seated in them.”
“We really appreciated how much enthusiasm and passion all the performers brought to the performance,” Mr. Morgan said.
Reporting by NTD Television, Rich Rangel, 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.
