SAN JOSE, Calif.—Environmental studies professor Chris Bacon brought his daughter to see Shen Yun Performing Arts in San Jose on Jan. 3.
“It’s terrific,” Mr. Bacon said of Shen Yun. “I think my daughter, who is five and a half years old, is loving it.”
They attended mainly because his daughter loves dancing. New York-based Shen Yun has toured the world for nine years, bringing audiences a dazzling display of classical Chinese dance accompanied by a live orchestra.
Mr. Bacon was especially impressed by Shen Yun’s projected digital backdrop.
“As a backdrop, and as a portrayal, it’s amazing,” Mr. Bacon said. “I’ve never been to a show that has such powerful use of the digital media interfacing with the dancers. It’s striking.”
As the company’s website describes it, “With state-of-the-art graphics technology, Shen Yun’s digital-backdrop team creates vividly animated settings, extending the stage and transporting the audience to a world where heaven and earth are one.”
“The combination of the special effects from the animated background with the dance in the theater is pretty magical,” said Mr. Bacon. “I think it’s innovative—I think that part of the innovative part is bringing that dance to life, but also the interaction between the digital media and the dance, and the singing, and the performance.”
With stunning choreography and brilliant handmade costumes, Shen Yun’s world-class dancers portray legends and historical stories from ancient China. The company’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of nearly-lost Chinese culture.
Mr. Bacon thinks it is “important to bring those stories to life.”
“The costumes are amazing,” he added. “You can see the fine detail of the handwork the people did.”
He also enjoyed the live piano and Shen Yun’s unique orchestra that uses both Chinese and Western instruments.
“It pulls together some of the traditional Chinese dance art forms that many of us haven’t seen before,” he said.
Reporting by Zhang Qian and Sally Appert
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.
