HOUSTON—Cybele Dewulf, president of a marketing company, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with friends and family as a special Christmas gift.
“I thought it was a great thing to bring my grandmother to, and we had a great time,” Ms. Dewulf said. “It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve.”
Ms. Dewulf was not familiar with Chinese culture before seeing the performance, but she felt captivated throughout New York-based Shen Yun’s matinee at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston on Dec. 24.
Though Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, Ms. Dewulf and her grandmother said that the values they saw portrayed through the performance are universal.
“I think there’s an artistry that’s common [between cultures],” Ms. Dewulf said, such as the theme of truthfulness she saw repeated throughout the performance.
“We loved it. We had a great time,” Ms. Dewulf said.
Ms. Dewulf attended the performance with her friend, Barbara Calderon, an attorney with her own practice. The group received tickets from Ms. Dewulf’s mother in New York.
“It was a beautiful, lyrical performance,” Ms. Calderon said.
The traditional Chinese culture presented was just like art, according to Ms. Calderon, and an impact to the world if brought forward.
“It’s very spiritual, and they can definitely do that,” Ms. Calderon said.
The different colors of the costumes presented a range of emotions, according to Ms. Calderon, from the soft, light, and happy to the stronger and more powerful colors and scenes.
Ms. Calderon added that she loved the solo vocalists. Sopranos Tianling Song and Haolan Geng sang original compositions in Chinese in the bel canto style.
“The sopranos were the icing on the cake,” Ms. Calderon said.
Traditional Culture
Mary Grace and Peter Reese enjoy Shen Yun Performing Arts at Houston’s Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston on Dec. 24. (Lily Setoh/Epoch Times)
Many audience members connect with Shen Yun’s mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.
Peter Reese, president of Smartprep Tutors, finally had the opportunity to attend the performance with his wife, Mary Grace.
“I always wanted to come,” Mr. Reese said. He and his wife are familiar with Chinese culture and were heartened to see traditional Chinese values portrayed through the art forms presented by Shen Yun.
“I feel more [at] home right now,” said Mary Grace, who is Filipino and has many extended family members who are Chinese.
Mr. Reese said he liked what the divinely inspired culture represented, and he found many commonalities with Western cultures, such as the simple principles of truth and beauty.
“I think we need more of them,” Mr. Reese said of those values. “To see this resurgence—I love it. I’m 100 percent behind it.”
“It’s just fabulous, absolutely outstanding,” Mr. Reese added. “I’m so glad we came.”
Gwen Marshall, a small business owner, felt inspired by Shen Yun’s mission after attending the performance with her daughter, Sheena.
“Like any culture, if you let it die, people don’t know their history,” Mrs. Marshall said. “If you don’t know your history, you don’t know where you’re going. You can’t have your future without your history.”
What Shen Yun is trying to accomplish is very important, in Mrs. Marshall’s view. “It needs to be done,” She said.
“To experience different cultures and history ... it’s very educational as well as entertaining,” Mrs. Marshall added.
Reporting by Lily Setoh and Catherine Yang.
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.
