BUFFALO, N.Y.—Professional musician-guitarist Ron Locurto found inspiration not only in the music but also in the entire experience of the production after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts on Wednesday night at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.
“The orchestra itself sounds just so wonderful together,” Mr. Locurto said, praising the blend of sounds from the East and West performed by the unique Shen Yun orchestra, in which a Western philharmonic orchestra plays the foundation while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies.
“To hear the Eastern instruments as well mixed in is just a fantastic sound. It sounded very Western, but with that Eastern mix into it, it’s very exciting and vivacious,” he said.
New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading classical Chinese artists who came together with a mission to revive the true traditional culture of China through the universal language of music and dance.
In a few short years it grew from one company to three dance companies and three orchestras, with some 300 artists who tour the world each year bringing their performances to 20 countries and 100 cities.
“Whenever I hear something that is put together so well and played so brilliantly, and then the marriage of that to the dancers and the visuals, it’s very exciting and very inspirational,” Mr. Locurto said, complimenting the skillful coordination between the music and the choreography and animated backdrops to tell stories of wonder.
Shen Yun uses state-of-the-art graphics technology to create vivid animated settings that extend the stage and transport the audience to other realms, from grasslands to palaces, from beaches to mountain peaks, from battlegrounds to heavenly kingdoms.
“Incredible the coordination between not only the musicians and the dancers but the backdrops as well. … It’s just amazing, the effects of the backdrops and the live musicians—fantastic combinations,” Mr. Locurto said.
He highlighted the Mongolian Bowl Dance for its excellence. “It was just incredible to see what [the dancers] were doing, and their grace and balance, and the music,” he said.
“It’s very enjoyable,” he said, noting that the music complemented the dancers very well and helped to tell the story.
“It’s just a fantastic mix of multimedia art,” Mr. Locurto added. “You’re getting that culture through it and through the stories. … It’s just a fantastic show on a lot of levels.”
“The show is wonderful, the music is fantastic, and the costumes are out of this world and it’s really taking me on a journey. It’s very much a surprise. It’s been terrific,” Mr. Locurto said.
“A lot of fun,” he added.
Reporting by New Tang Dynasty Television and Cindy Chan
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Following the Buffalo show, Shen Yun will perform 11 shows at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York from April 20 through to April 28. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
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