HOUSTON—Blossoming flowers, a dreamy, relaxed feeling, and the themes of good overcoming evil, were some of the highlights of Shen Yun Performing Arts for Sharon Reynolds and Leslie Crnkovic.
“I saw a lot of good will, believing in the good of mankind and reaching out to help each other. … Overcoming evil with good rather than fighting evil with evil,” said Ms. Reynolds who is the vice president of private banking at Wells Fargo.
Based in New York, Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company with a mission to revive China’s traditional culture.
“Sophisticated dance techniques, an orchestra joining instruments from both the East and West, beautiful costumes, and a stunning back drop—this is Shen Yun at first glance,” explains the Shen Yun website. “But digging deeper, one discovers a sea of traditional Chinese culture.”
“I loved the fact that good always overcomes, good always prevails. I believe that it inspires hope,” she said.
“I believe we are very much in need of keeping hope, and I appreciate the boldness of the message that was there and I think that it’s very courageous and that inspires me,” she said after seeing the performance at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts on Jan. 7.
“It was wonderful … the artfulness of it, the colors, the sounds, gestures,” said Mr. Crnkovic, who is a professor of material sciences at San Jacinto College in Pasadena.
There are many elements in a Shen Yun performance that make it one of a kind. In addition to classical Chinese dance, the performances also include ethnic and folk dances from China’s distinctive ethnic minority groups. Other unique features include hundreds of colorful hand made costumes and an orchestra that combines both classical Western and classical Chinese instruments.
The fabric, cut, and vibrant hues of the costumes impressed Mr. Crnkovic and Ms. Reynolds.
“We loved the costumes and the way the costumes flowed,” Ms. Reynolds said.
Mr. Crnkovic said his favorite costumes were ones with delicate pink flower blossoms and the flowing, deep blue skirts and capes worn by female dancers in the piece Phoenixes of the Sapphire Paradise.
Ms. Reynolds also liked the phoenix costumes.
“Dreamy; very relaxing,” she said of them.
Also a music teacher, Ms. Reynolds enjoyed the way the Chinese instruments blended with the Western instruments in the Shen Yun Orchestra.
“The orchestra was outstanding,” she said.
She was also impressed by the skill of the musicians, particularly one flautist.
“She was amazing,” Ms. Reynolds said.
“[Shen Yun has] the cream of the crop there with the musicians. The timing and everything was perfect,” she said.
Summing up her experience of the performance, Ms. Reynolds said, “It was very beautiful, poetic, and artistic; very expressive and very much worth seeing.”
Reporting by Sarah Guo and June Fakkert
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.
