SAN FRANCISCO—Sitting right up front at the War Memorial Opera House, Ms. Carol Boser, a director at Lockheed Martin, was taken by the expressions of the dancers and the instruments of the unique orchestra of Shen Yun Performing Arts.

“It’s all wonderful,” said Ms. Boser of the performance in San Francisco, Jan. 10.

Based in New York, Shen Yun tours internationally, reviving 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the performing arts. The dancers perform classical Chinese dance and ethnic and folk dances, showing many dynasties, legends, and regions of China through the art forms.

Shen Yun Orchestra had intrigued Ms. Boser as well, who had a peek into the orchestra pit. “All the instruments too, beautiful,” Ms. Boser said looking in during intermission.

The orchestra is unlike any other, blending East and West by using traditional Chinese instruments in a full Western symphony. The two-stringed erhu, for example, has a history of nearly 4,000 years. The pipa (Chinese lute); the suona, a woodwind instrument; and Chinese percussion instruments are blended in as well.

“Very nice, very nice!” Ms. Boser said of the overall experience.

“It’s the whole choreography of it, between the screen in the back, the music, the dancing,” Ms. Boser said. “All the colors, it’s beautiful.”

Reporting by Gary Wang 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.