HOUSTON, Texas—Watching Shen Yun Performing Arts on New Year’s Day was a good way to start the new year, Thomas Marian said after watching the performance at the Houston Jones Hall For The Performing Arts.

“It is very positive and hopeful,” Mr. Marian said about Shen Yun. Mr. Marian is the president of Marian Maritime, a marine transportation company.

Mr. Marian said he was particularly impressed with the dance performances in Shen Yun.

Based in New York, Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance and music. The company’s productions each year feature all new programming, presented in the form of mini-drama pieces with stories from ancient China and all the way to the present.

Mr. Marian said he enjoyed seeing the history in the performance, and also learning classical Chinese dance and how it has influenced ballet and gymnastics.

Through the performance, he saw that China is “multi-culture, … a very diverse nation, geographically, ethnically, culturally.” He added that he could see that while China is very diverse, the people have many things in common.

“In other words, there is diversity with respect ... differences with regard to where people live and … traditions that people have, but it is all rooted in the same concepts. They express themselves in dance and music and things of that nature.”

Reporting by Sherry Dong

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.