INDIANAPOLIS—“It’s all just absolutely wondrous—really, really enjoying,” said Susan Stanley about Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s March 14 performance at Clowes Memorial Hall, Butler University. “This is magical, it’s just the athleticism, the artistry, the history, the sets.”
Ms. Stanley is a communication and marketing manager at the Indiana University’s School of Medicine. She continued to describe the performance as “wonderful, absolutely amazing that the dancers are so talented, and the colors and the stories are just incredible. So very, very much enjoying it.”
Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving traditional Chinese culture through the arts of dance and music. Through telling stories of beloved historical characters, myths, legends and virtues of the dynasties, audiences learn about traditional Chinese culture.
Ms. Stanley also enjoyed the history and the way the stories were told through dance. “I love the variety of the different types of dance, and the way they are using their costumes, and the fans, and the different things as they dance.” she said.
She said she would tell colleagues to not miss the performance. “We don’t see anything like this in the American theater ... the movement, the fluidity of it, the athleticism, it combines everything, and on top of that, you have these incredible costumes, and colors. You just can’t beat it.”
Story-based Dance Reveals Heartache and Drama
Nancy Cobb, retired from the State Health Department, was also among the audience enjoying the Shen Yun performance.
“I think it is beautiful,” she said. “I am really enjoying it. I love the costumes, the colors ... the ingenious way that they have done [the backdrop], and the stories. It’s quite beautiful.”
Ms. Cobb said that two dances stood out for her. The Choice, in which friends meet on Tiananmen Square. This dance depicts a scene from contemporary China, where the traditional spiritual practice of Falun Dafa is persecuted by the communist regime. “It kind of brings the heartache, and the drama, and the great personal pain involved,” she said.
How the Monkey King Came To Be, was another piece that stood out for her, which she said was clever.
Shen Yun’s trademark is the brilliantly colored handmade costumes. “They wore beautiful, beautiful costumes, and [they] really make an impression with the colors,” Ms. Cobb said.
Reporting by Su Yue, Valerie Avore and Cat Rooney.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will be at the Stranahan Theater in Toledo for two performances on March 17 and 18.
For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
