NEW YORK—Shen Yun Performing Arts displayed the sights and sounds of ancient China, lighting up the stage at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Friday.
Edward Archer, a former video editor for the long-running CBS News program 60 Minutes attended the performance with his wife, Maria-Pia Archer, a former teacher. Both said they were impressed with it.
“It’s fabulous. I admire the beauty and precision. It’s just wonderful,” Mr. Archer said.
Formed in 2006 and having toured around the world in more than 100 cities, Shen Yun aspires to restore the cultural traditions of China through performing arts and music, its website says.
As a video editor, Mr. Archer said he was “admiring the background and how they did that,” referring to the company’s animated backdrop.
The backdrop is highly colorful, filled with movement, and depicts a variety of scenes, including ancient China, mountaintops, pastoral landscapes, and lower-laden forests among others.
When Shen Yun “combined that with live events,” it was “wonderful,” Mr. Archer added.
Mrs. Archer, who said she had to wait two years to see the performance, was struck by the company’s use of music. “The music was beautiful [and] it was so soft,” she said.
The Shen Yun orchestra joins together the seemingly “disparate sounds” of Western and Chinese music, its website says. “A Western philharmonic orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies. The sound produced is uniquely pleasing to the ear.”
Reporting by Alec Wang and Jack Phillips.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will perform at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center through April 22.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
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