HOUSTON—June Winchester played bass and sang in a country band. Ms. Winchester suffered a stroke and could not see or speak for two years. She said she was happy that she has recovered, so she could share her feelings about Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Dec. 30 matinee in Houston at the Jones Hall for Performing Arts.
“It was absolutely gorgeous. It’s just unbelievably beautiful and perfect. Everything was perfect,” Ms. Winchester said. “I wish I'd gone early. The dancing was beautiful, the song was beautiful.”
The retired performer expressed gratitude and admiration. “Everything looks perfect,” Ms. Winchester said of the artists. “Each one is perfect. Their body, their face, how they dance. Everything is just excellent. It couldn’t be any better. Thank you so much.”
Dancers from the New York-based company are trained in classical Chinese dance. “Classical Chinese dance has a long history of thousands of years, passed down continuously within the imperial palace and ancient Chinese theater and opera,” Shen Yun’s website explains. “Classical Chinese dance is grounded in 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture, and is a dance art form built upon a deep foundation of traditional aesthetics.”
As a musician, Ms. Winchester praised the orchestra. “Everything together with the dancing, it just went.”
Shen Yun Orchestra mixes East and West with traditional Chinese instruments like the two-stringed erhu leading the melodies on a philharmonic orchestra foundation. Shen Yun’s music also includes bel canto style vocal soloists between the dances.
“It sounded beautiful,” Ms. Winchester said of the soprano Yuning, who sang “A Sacred Song.” Ms. Winchester appreciated the singer’s vocal quality. “She was very, very excellent.”
“I’m going to tell all my friends that they better go. Because any of my friends that have not gone, I’m going to say you’re definitely going to come here,” Ms. Winchester said. “It’s going to be much prettier and beautiful, even more than you think. It’s even better.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Catherine Yang.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s International Company will be performing in Houston through January 1. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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