NEW YORK—Shen Yun is back in New York City, and there was a full house for its first of 10 shows at the Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theatre on Jan. 10.
“It’s great, this is my second time coming to see the performance and I really enjoy the color, the technique,” said Edgar Perez, author of The Speed Traders, An Insider’s Look at the New High-Frequency Trading Phenomenon That is Transforming the Investing World.
“It is an amazing performance, and I think both the guys and the girls are just great in the dance, and so I really appreciate coming here once again,” Perez said.
Shen Yun is a journey through China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture. Dancers from the nonprofit, New York-based company are trained in classical Chinese dance, as well as Chinese ethnic and folk dance. Along with each dance comes a vast array of colorful costumes, animated backdrops, and accompaniment by a full orchestra of Western and Chinese instruments.
“I think definitely music, art, dancing helps you in your life, helps you to achieve a point of peace,” Perez said. “I think coming here and watching the movement transports you to another world and I think that’s what I enjoy the most about the presentation.”
Nick Anzalone, a research specialist for a financial company, also said he enjoyed the performance. He said, “I thought it was amazing, very well put together.”
Being of Italian decent, Anzalone said he appreciated songs in the performance from Shen Yun’s award-winning vocal soloists, who sing in the Bel Canto style. He said, “It’s a bit different from a western perspective and it was good.”
Anzalone said he also enjoyed the stories in the performance told through dance, which include both traditional stories from Chinese folklore and stories of modern China.
“For instance you had the tale with Journey to the West, where they had the demon attacking the righteous people,“ he said, referring to a tale pulled from one of China’s core traditional stories. He said there is a common thread between the traditional and the modern stories of people holding their faith amidst persecution, noting ”you could use that as a metaphor or allegory for what’s going on in China—that represents the red dragon, where they were repressing people.”
Anzalone said the performance was a learning experience, and an exploration of Chinese culture. “I was raised in New England with a Roman Catholic background,” he said. “I studied Japanese a little, but other than that I have no exposure to anything Eastern, especially the Eastern folkloric tradition.”
He said, “it was very well put together, very amusing.”
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.
