PHOENIX—Shen Yun Performing Arts took the stage at ASU Gammage on Jan. 31, impressing the audience with a colorful presentation of traditional Chinese culture.
“The costuming was beautiful,” said painter Amy Flosi. “I loved the essence behind all of it—the energy that was behind all the performers.”
New York-based Shen Yun tours the world six months out of every year with one mission: to revive the traditional and divinely inspired Chinese culture, one that was nearly decimated by more than 60 years of communist rule in China, and especially after the Cultural Revolution, according to the company’s website.
“Classical Chinese dance is at the heart of the performance, along with brilliant costumes, breathtaking projections, and an orchestra that combines both classical Western and Chinese instruments,” says Shen Yun’s website.
The beauty and visual elements were what Ms. Flosi particularly enjoyed about the performance, as well as the digital backdrop.
Traditional Chinese culture is replete with spiritual values such as benevolence, honor, and wisdom, as well as a reverence for the gods and the heavens, says Shen Yun’s website. The artists of the company follow the ancient artistic tradition, that to present true, pure art externally, one has to purify and become true to oneself internally.
Ms. Flosi sensed the message behind the performance, including the ability to express oneself, something impossible for Shen Yun to presently do in China, despite the cast being comprised of mostly ethnic Chinese.
“The message behind [it] is just the beauty and power, and the connection of love,” she said. Demonstrated by the synchronicity of the dancers,“that we are one,” and moreover, “to see the freedom of expression in the show, and the costumes also demonstrating that freedom,” she saw as valuable.
Reporting by Kerry Huang and Zachary Stieber.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company is in Vancouver Feb. 3 to 5.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
