NEW YORK—Distinguished producers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley attended the Jan. 18 Shen Yun Performing Arts’ performance at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater and were delighted by the experience.
“It is just an amazing experience! The stories are exciting, the dance is very professional, and the costumes are beautiful,” said Mr. Lane, who is a six-time Tony Award winner. He added that he was impressed by the show’s blending of technical graphics with the dance. “Its quite exciting to watch. Quite inspirational.”
Mr. Lane’s wife, Ms. Comley, who is vice president of Stellar Productions International Inc., and a three-time Tony Award-winning producer, as well as a writer and performer, was also impressed and surprised at the seamless blending of modern technology with the dance performances.
Ms. Comley said she was interested to see how China’s 5000 years of culture would be portrayed using modern digital technology, and was afraid that this might detract from the performances, but “it didn’t at all! It really enhanced it, it was amazing.”
“The graphics! The animation behind it, it was really so amazing! So well done!” she said.
Shen Yun’s digital backdrops create vividly animated settings and extend the stage with sacred halls, ancient gardens, and heavenly scenes, bringing audiences to China’s ancient past and immersing them in the action there.
“My husband and I both loved it, how it blends so well together, and brings the stories to life,” said Ms. Comley.
Mr. Lane mentioned that he particularly enjoyed the dance piece called The Fable of the Magic Brush, which tells a tale where a young painter befriends a mysterious maiden and defends her from a band of ruffians. In gratitude, she gives him a magic brush that turns anything he paints into reality. The kindhearted artist uses the magic brush for good to provide for the village, but greedy ruffians hatch a plan to steal the brush. Once in their grasp however, they discover that the brush will not obey an impure heart.
“I thought ‘wow!’ that showed the combination of the dance, the music, and the graphics together. I thought, wow! Just as I’m watching it, I’m getting ideas, possibilities ... that’s exciting,” said Mr. Lane.
Ms. Comley loved the dance called Sleeves of Grace that evokes the movement of the gentle spring breeze as maidens wearing gowns with trailing silk sleeves dance creating patterns in the air.
“I thought that was just really beautiful,” said Ms. Comley, who also admired the ease of movement of the dancers and the dexterity that allows them to use the long sleeves.
Ms. Comley summed up their experience of the show overall: “The dancing is beautiful, the production values are just tremendous. With so many dancers, so many talented talented dancers, it’s really great! We’re having a wonderful time.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Kati Vereshaka
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
