SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Artist: Shen Yun Brings Forth Playful, Cheerful Memories

Mar 01, 2014
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Artist: Shen Yun Brings Forth Playful, Cheerful Memories
Debbie Elovitz and her husband, Bill Elovitz, at the Citi Wang Theatre in Boston, Mass., on Feb. 28, 2014. (Catherine Yang/Epoch Times)

BOSTON—Artist Debbie Elovitz and her husband Bill Elovitz, president of a retail chain, have long been lovers of Chinese culture. So for Mr. Elovitz’s 61st birthday, they decided seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Citi Wang Theatre would make for the perfect outing.

From the moment the curtains opened and the fog depicting celestial clouds spilled out, the performance was beautiful for Mr. Elovitz. “It brings back nice memories” of a China he knew from trips there many years ago, he said at the theater on Feb. 28.

“It’s very soothing, everything just works really nicely,” Mrs. Elovitz said. “The dance, the music, and the costumes, the background—everything. It’s just gorgeous, really.”

New York-based Shen Yun revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, said to be inspired by the heavens, through the universal languages of music and dance.

Mrs. Elovitz said watching Shen Yun brought forth playful and cheerful feelings, and a sense of being content. The colorfulness of the costuming and set and the performers had made it so.

The couple also noted how impressed they were with Shen Yun’s digital backdrop, which allowed dancers to appear on stage one moment and on screen the next. The effect came through in particular in many of the mini-dramas performed by Shen Yun, telling stories from ancient legends to those of modern-day China.

“It ties it all together nicely,” Mr. Elovitz said of the narratives.

Affirmation of Life

Also seeing Shen Yun for the first time was Ms. Julie Brody, a neuropsychologist, and Ms. Kathleen Sullivan, a nurse practitioner.

Ms. Sullivan said she saw universal themes in the stories Shen Yun told through classical Chinese dance, and found it uplifting.

“It’s like an affirmation of life,” Ms. Sullivan said. “The dancing is just amazing.”

“It’s joyous, it’s lovely,” said Ms. Brody who called Shen Yun a visual splendor. “The athleticism is really impressive, and I think they’re synchronized beautifully.”

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.