TAMPA, Fla.—Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s opening-night performance was sold out to an audience of over 2,000 people at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
The Straz Center, which borders the scenic Riverwalk along the Hillsborough River, is a cultural hub in the city and is the second-largest performing arts complex in the Southeast.
This weekend’s engagement, which includes a matinee and an evening performance on Sunday, will mark the company’s debut in Tampa. The New York-based company announced at the Saturday performance that it will return to the Tampa Bay area May 5 for two performances at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. In February, Shen Yun performed in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., for the fifth consecutive year.
At intermission, Olga McBride said that she felt a connection to Chinese culture while watching the show. She grew up in Russia and said that the Russian and Chinese cultures, although not close, had a similar history—the development and decay of their traditional cultures.
She said she enjoyed the tenor, who “was perfect and just amazing.” She thought the dancers were very professional, and she was awed by their expressivity: “They could speak with the ends of their fingers.”
Ruth is an assistant superintendent of a local school system. She said she was enjoying the performance and found it educational, expanding her understanding of Chinese culture through the costumes, movements, and emotions.
