SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Is For Everyone, of Any Age, Say Finance Executives

Jan 01, 2014
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Shen Yun Is For Everyone, of Any Age, Say Finance Executives
Cathryn Selman enjoyed Shen Yun Performing Arts with her twin granddaughters at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 29. (Mei Zhong/Epoch Times)

HOUSTON—Cathryn Selman, retired finance executive for ExxonMobile, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts with her twin granddaughters. She was touched to see the stories told through dance at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 29.

“I think it will help remind audiences how much our cultures have in common even though they are very different also,” Ms. Selman said.

New York-based Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, which is said to be inspired by the heavens, through the universal languages of music and dance.

“I think it’s very beautiful to see that here, with so many people of different backgrounds,” Ms. Selman said of Shen Yun’s mission.

Ms. Selman noted many of the stories, which range from the present day to the inception of the first dynasty in China, show similarities to the Western culture even if some tales were lesser known. 

She was glad to see characters her girls knew, like the Goddess of the Moon, but felt everything was easily understood through the performance.

“It’s very spiritual,” Ms. Selman noted of the culture. “Some of the stories … the song about finding your truth, and also the last story about compassion and tolerance, very beautiful.”

Ms. Selman is very familiar with ballet, and was intrigued watching the dancers on stage perform classical Chinese dance with the intricate, but different, movements and postures.

Classical Chinese dance, as Shen Yun’s website explains, has been passed down and refined through the dynasties, soaking up the wisdom of every era. It is a vast and independent system of dance allowing performers to portray characters from any time or setting with unparalleled clarity.

“It’s beautiful,” Ms. Selman said. “It’s so athletic, and it’s so very graceful.”

Mr. Manz, a CFO for an oil and gas company, attended Shen Yun as well and experienced the history and traditional culture for the first time.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful experience,” Mr. Manz said. Every aspect of the performance had been beautiful, he said, and though he had not known much about the history of China, he could feel the culture clearly.

“They’re very peaceful ... so when you see the way they dance, and the moves, and the gracefulness, you can see the whole culture,” Mr. Manz said he observed.

Reporting by NTD Television and Mei Zhong

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.