LUBBOCK, Texas—Shen Yun Performing Arts delighted its audience at the Buddy Holly Hall on May 31 with classical Chinese dance and folk dance and music.
One audience member impressed by the New York-based performing arts company was musician Clinton Barrick.
Mr. Barrick admired “the artistry of the dancers, and the beauty of the orchestra, and the music that’s composed just for [Shen Yun].”
“I loved it very much. And I liked the Eastern instruments because we don’t hear them very much,” said Mr. Barrick.
Mr. Barrick plays the horn. He is also the director of programming for a network of radio stations in Texas. Since the 1980s he has been a music director for both churches and synagogues.
China was once known as the “celestial kingdom” and, according to legend, was a world where divine beings and mortals once co-existed in harmony. The dances and songs in Shen Yun portray traditional as well as modern stories which are imbued with spiritual and moral values.
Mr. Barrick enjoyed learning about Chinese traditions and watching the story-based dances.
“The stories were all very clear. I understood all the stories. So it was very good,” he said.
He sent a message of encouragement to Shen Yun’s artists. “Keep doing [your performances], so that we all know what this art is.”
‘It’s Enlightening, Makes My Heart Feel Light’
Lee Rice, a retired railroad train conductor, was also in the audience with his family.“It is the first time I’ve seen the [performance] and I brought my two granddaughters, and my daughter, and my lovely wife to see it. So I wanted to share [Shen Yun] with them,” he said.
The colorful folk and ethnic dances with their distinctive rhythms take the audience from the Mongolian Plains across to the plateaus of Tibet.
“But the beauty, the pageantry, the costumes, it’s beautiful. It’s wonderful,” said Mr. Rice
“It’s enlightening and makes my heart feel light. And I love it. So I feel like it’s a great event that we all should see. I love to learn about other cultures. So we’re very appreciative that [the performers] have come [to Lubbock],” said Mr. Rice.
“That was just impressive,” he said.
He was also surprised to learn that acrobatics is an intrinsic part of Chinese classical dance. “So to see the athleticism is fascinating. It’s very enjoyable.”
“I think [Shen Yun] shines a light on the Chinese people, the true Chinese people, not the communist government that has taken over and done so many bad things,” said Mr. Rice.
Mr. Rice believed that sometimes there is confusion between Maoist communism and today’s Chinese people.
