SAN JOSE, Calif.—“It was spectacular!” said retired professor of surgery Dr. Carl Sutherland who brought three generations of his family to experience Shen Yun Performing Arts’ presentation of authentic traditional Chinese culture on Saturday night.
“We went a few years back in San Francisco, my wife and I, and I remember that it was beautiful and attractive, and exciting. So we wanted to bring our grandchildren,” Mr. Sutherland said, “to introduce them to a different culture. Their parents wanted to come along, too.”
Shen Yun’s program book reads, “Shen Yun’s productions draw their inspiration from China’s 5,000 years of civilization. Values such as compassion and loyalty, kindness and bravery lie at the heart of traditional Chinese culture. We believe this rich heritage is a precious gift worth keeping, and worth sharing.”
The performance exceeded Mr. Sutherland’s expectations.
“The show is so much better than it was a few years back—all the background scenery, and the action, and the special effects, and everything was just spectacular, wonderful, beautiful. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it,” said Mr. Sutherland.
Shen Yun’s website reads, “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. Sutherland was impressed by Shen Yun Performing Arts’ state-of-the-art digital backdrop technology, in which dancers appear to go back and forth from the images on the backdrop to the stage.
“The special effects were so wonderful, I haven’t had the slightest idea about how they did those. That was something!” he said.
Shen Yun’s website elaborates on its special backdrop. “Shen Yun’s digital-backdrop team creates vividly animated settings, extending the stage and transporting the audience to a world where heaven and earth are one.”
The Shen Yun performance, Mr. Sutherland said, “is an introduction into a culture that most of us don’t know anything about. It’s beautiful, it’s spectacular, it’s graceful—and the athleticism of the performers is just incredible! And so it’s just a spectacle from start to finish.”
Reporting by Han Ning and Abraham Thompson
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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.
