PITTSBURGH—Shen Yun Performing Arts, hailed the world over as the leader in classical Chinese dance, brought two Pittsburgh families to the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts Thursday.
Banker Jeffrey Todd said his wife and three children enjoyed the performance: “It’s great fun for us, it’s the first time we have seen it, great dancing and singing. And it was a lot of fun to see all the different colors and all the different dances.”
Established in 2006, the New York-based company’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese culture, a culture said to be divinely inspired.
The company website says: “A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops-together creating one spectacular performance.”
Mr. Todd said his family had not much exposure to Chinese culture before seeing Shen Yun.
“The kids have been taking some Chinese in school and we have a Chinese exchange student so it was a lot of fun for us to get to see the Chinese traditional dance.”
Classical Chinese dance has developed over thousands of years, making it an integral part of the rich ancient culture. Shen Yun’s website elaborates: “Classical Chinese dance is richly expressive. Hundreds of specific postures, expressions, and techniques combined with China’s deep cultural traditions make it a vast and independent system of dance. Shen Yun’s dancers are therefore able to depict scenes from any time period and setting.”
The state-of-the art animated backdrop was fun, Mr. Todd said. His daughter, Addie, said she would tell her friends about Shen Yun. She said “it was really cool ... I wish I could see it again.”
Also at the theatre was Kathleen Miara, her husband Paul, and their two daughters, Lily and Emily.
“It was amazing. Just the acrobatics and the dances were amazing,” Mrs. Miara said, impressed also by the beautiful and colorful costumes.
Mrs. Miara, who is interested in different cultures, said she had learned “not just about the struggles China is going through now, but also more about their culture and their dancing, so that was enjoyable.”
Shen Yun brings Chinese legends, history, and also scenes from contemporary life to the stage.
Mrs. Miara’s daughter, Lily, said Shen Yun was “amazing.”
She used to dance and now she’s cheer-leading. “They do a lot of tumbling tricks like the dancers did, it was amazing to see,” she said. Classical Chinese dance includes both “hundreds of exquisite movements and postures,” and technical skills, such as jumping, flips, and turns, explains the company website.
Mr. Miara is a former dancer and enjoyed what he saw.“It was phenomenal, some of the things they were doing were very intricate. ... Very well performed, very well done. It was very good, a very good show.”
He was struck by the precision of the choreography.
“Everything flowed, everything was very smooth. The transitions were done very well,“ he said. ”I wish I could see it again.”
Reporting by NTD Television, Lily Sun and Raiatea Tahana-Reese
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.
