SAN FRANCISCO—Clive Downie, chief operating officer of Zynga, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the War Memorial Opera House on Jan. 11 with some guests, and enjoyed the sold-out performance.
“I think it’s an interesting piece of art,” said Mr. Downie. “It’s eclectic and dynamic, and we’re enjoying it.”
Shen Yun, the premier classical Chinese dance and music company, is based in New York and tours the world each year with an all-new performance.
“The art here is varied—the different dance moves, it’s the different costumes,” said Mr. Downie; “It’s the music and it’s just the coming together of all that on the stage—it’s good.”
Shen Yun’s website explains the combination of elements: “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. Downie also enjoyed the animated backdrop.
“I like the way there was a combination of the visuals on the screen, and the onstage action I thought that was very exciting. Very cleverly produced,” he said.
Mr. Downie also enjoyed the lively Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra, which accompanies each dance piece. The orchestra is unique in its combination of both Western and Eastern instruments.
The dance titled In a Village of the Hmong was one of the more memorable dance pieces for Mr. Downie. In this piece, female dancers wearing long white skirts and “elaborate silver jewelry accompanies them, swinging and tinkling as the ladies step to cheerful drumbeats,” according to Shen Yun’s program book.
“The piece with the women dancing all in white with the silver jewelry, that was just special, just from a craft point of view. The dance was amazing, and the production, and the way that all the dresses flowed together, and the sound of the jewelry,” he said.
Another dance that caught his attention was the piece titled, The Fable of the Magic Brush. In this dance, a painter’s kind act to a mysterious maiden lands him a magical paintbrush that can turn anything he paints into reality.
“The paintbrush piece I liked because it was like a mini play,” said Mr. Downie. “There was a story within that piece that came through—it was lovely.”
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
