SAN JOSE, Calif.—Shen Yun Performing Arts gave a final performance Sunday afternoon at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Known for captivating audiences around the world, Shen Yun will visit Berkeley, San Francisco, and Sacramento through Jan. 13.
Barry LeMay, who owns a financial group, was impressed with the level of skill of the dancers. “I think it’s very good, much better than we see here in the United States,” he said. “We see a lot of quality in the dance … there’s a lot of work that goes into it.”
“And I see all the different regions of China that I didn’t really know a lot about before,” he said.
“Classical Chinese dance has a long history of thousands of years, passed down continuously within the imperial palace and ancient Chinese theater and opera,” according to the Shen Yun website. China has a 5,000-year history and 55 ethnic groups that provide material for each performance.
China’s culture is considered to be divinely inspired, according to the Shen Yun website, and Shen Yun itself translates as “the essence of divine beings dancing.”
This spiritual aspect was attractive to Mr. LeMay, who said “it gives me a better understanding of the Chinese.”
Accompanying the Shen Yun dancers is the Shen Yun Symphony Orchestra, comprising instruments from both the East and the West. “The music is very good,” said Mr. LeMay of the orchestra. “You hear the quality.”
Supporting each dance are vivid, state-of-the-art backdrops that give add depth and context to each piece. “I have never seen that before,” said Mr. LeMay, “I think that’s a very great touch. Normally you just see props. The background is moving and the synchronization between the people coming down from heaven and the real people taking their places is very good.”
Shen Yun’s mission is to revive the ancient traditions of China’s long history. “That’s something we all should do,” said Mr. LeMay. “We just see a lot here of progression, of nothing is the same as it was before, but I like the fact that they’re going back.”
“I'll tell everybody I see they need to come see Shen Yun,” he said.
Reporting by Gary Wang and Laurie Gorham
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.
