SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Impresses Frequent Theatergoers in New York City

Jan 12, 2014
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Shen Yun Impresses Frequent Theatergoers in New York City
Jose Recamen and his wife,Julia, enjoy Shen Yun Performing Arts at at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, on Jan. 11. (Alec Wang/Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Shen Yun Performing Arts Saturday evening performance at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater left the attendees deeply impressed with the experience of the 5,000 year-old Chinese culture.

Julia Recamen, a voiceover artist for television and radio, and her husband Jose Recamen, a sports agent, were among the crowd. They are frequent theatergoers.

“The show is amazing,” said Mr. Recamen. “The music is fantastic. I love the culture. I love the learning experience.”

“The best way to understand other cultures is to expose yourself to events as this,” Mr. Recamen said. “I loved it, had a great time.”

The couple finally came to see Shen Yun after wanting to attend for years. Mr. Recamen was excited that they fulfilled their wish.

“We come to a lot of performances here—we see ballets, we see shows,” he said. “It’s definitely, definitely high quality ... performance. Very nicely done.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun presents the ancient Chinese culture through music and dance.

“In less than ten minutes each, Shen Yun dances recount ancient myths, bygone heroes, or celestial paradises,” according to the company’s website. “Whether set in the past or in contemporary China, every dance embodies traditional Chinese values. Ideals of loyalty, filial piety, and veneration for the divine are cherished and celebrated. Heroes are extolled for their compassion and tolerance as much as their courage or determination when facing adversity.”

Mrs. Recamen said that they learned about the peaceful aspect of Chinese culture from seeing Shen Yun.

She said she particularly connected with the dance The Steadfast Lotus, which depicts a scene that mirrors countless others in modern China. In it, a group of people, including a mother and daughter, are practicing the exercises of the spiritual meditation discipline Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong). The mother gives her daughter a banner decorated with a lotus flower and the words ‘Truth, Compassion, Tolerance.’ “This perfect moment is shattered when Communist Party policy arrive to take the mother away,” according to the Shen Yun program book. “The daughter endures tribulations searching for her mother, until her steadfast faith gives her newfound hope.”

“It’s beautiful. I felt like they really were able to portray exactly the mood and the feeling that they were trying go for and it was beautiful,” said Mrs. Recamen.

The cultural symbols used in different dances, such as chopsticks and lanterns, also stuck out to Mrs. Recamen.

“That to me shows a lot of the culture aspect, and the fact that they are embracing it is beautiful,” she said.

“This is just a beautiful performance,” said Mrs. Recamen. “I felt like they really were able to portray exactly the mood and the feeling that they were trying go for and it was beautiful.”

Reporting by Alec Wang and Zachary Stieber

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.