HOUSTON—“The costumes are out of this world,” said geophysicist Carol Lloyd after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts with her visiting cousin, Joann Davis, at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 26.
The New York-based Shen Yun was formed 8 years ago by artists from around the globe to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Through music and dance, brilliant costumes, an animated backdrop and more, Shen Yun takes its audiences on a journey through Chinese dynasties to experience the divinely inspired culture.
“I love it, I love it. It’s beautiful, it’s fabulous,” Ms. Lloyd said.
Having spent over 15 years as an advanced expert in geophysical applications at ExxonMobil, won awards for oil discoveries, and authored three US patents, Ms. Lloyd now works as a contract geophysicist as well as a yoga instructor. Seeing the athleticism of the dancers demonstrated through classical Chinese dance, Ms. Lloyd said she was amazed.
Ms. Lloyd and Ms. Davis said there was a serenity through the performance that uplifted them.
Classical Chinese dance is richly expressive. Hundreds of specific postures, expressions, and techniques combined with China’s deep cultural traditions make it a vast and independent system of dance, according to Shen Yun’s website. Shen Yun’s dancers are therefore able to depict scenes from any time period and setting.
“It’s spectacular,” Ms. Davis said.
Reviving Culture
Mr. Joel Carlson and Ms. Shannon Logan enjoy an afternoon at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 26. (Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)
Ms. Shannon Logan, a writer from Los Angeles, attended the performance as well, with Mr. Joel Carlson, a merchant mariner.
Having studied Chinese culture in school, Ms. Logan said she knew there was a disconnect between the people in China today and their history, due the the Chinese regime’s censorship.
However, she saw the true traditional culture of China and its history in Shen Yun, and she wondered if such a performance could help the Chinese people reconnect. “Using this as a thread to pull people through and educate them would be interesting,” Ms. Logan said.
Cindy and Bruce Purdy attend Shen Yun Performing Arts’ Thursday matinee performance at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston. (Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)
Cindy and Bruce Purdy, who were also in the audience, had a similar thought that art is the way to connect across cultures as well
“Dance is a language, so everything they did was a language to us—no matter what we speak,” Mrs. Purdy said.
Mr. Purdy added that he appreciated the opportunity to experience another culture without politics involved.
Mrs. Purdy said she noticed the traditional Chinese culture in the intricate details, like each specific movement of the dancers’ hands.
“It was fabulous. I'd not seen anything like that before,” Mrs. Purdy said, adding that the dancers were floating: “It was just beautiful, just beautiful.”
“I can’t wait to come back,” Mrs. Purdy said.
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.
