SAN JOSE, Calif.—Business owner Henry Boisvert and his fiancée, Ling Qi, were captivated by Shen Yun, which performed for a full house at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 5.
“I felt that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The best performance on stage probably ever, anywhere,” Mr. Boisvert said.
Ms. Ling, who is a former economics professor, shared Boisvert’s enjoyment of the performance. “I think it’s very good, fantastic, and it’s great to be here to see the performance. From the professionalism of the performers to the costumes to the backdrops. Excellent!” she said.
“I think it’s allowing the world’s people to get an understanding of China.”
Founded in 2006, Shen Yun has the mission to revive “5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture,” according to the company’s website. A culture of which much has been lost after 60 years of communist rule in China.
“I think the cultural background of 5,000 years past needs to be kept alive. Otherwise mankind loses the history and we'd never know where we came from and where we’re going,” Boisvert said.
“It’s important to keep who we are as humanity. And it’s really good to bring this to America because America gets to see a culture that’s been around many thousand years.”
After its founding, Shen Yun has grown rapidly, now performing with three performance troupes and orchestras around the world, already reaching millions of audience members around the globe.
“I think that this entire performance is the entire Chinese culture,” Ms. Ling said. “From the Yi ethnic group to the Tibetan ethnic group to the grasslands. Their expression is very broad. It’s expressing the multiple ethnic-group culture of China. And the show’s bright colors allows everyone to learn further and understand.”
Classical Chinese dance, which is one of the world’s most comprehensive dance systems, is the core of Shen Yun performances. The performances also include a variety of ethnic and folk dances from China’s numerous ethnic minorities.
Ms. Ling said she was impressed by the expression in the performance.
“For example, the piece from ancient times, ‘Sand Monk is Blessed.’ That story is normally pretty difficult to comprehend, but the performance was very vivid,” she said.
“There is humor and cheerfulness, but there is also righteousness. Very bright.”
Reporting by Alex Ma and Jasper Fakkert.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. The Shen Yun Touring Company will perform at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts through Jan. 6. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
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