EVANSVILLE, Ind.—“We were very impressed with the costuming, and the dancing was just excellent!” Bill Spice said of Shen Yun Performing Arts. Mr. Spice attended the performance on Jan. 29 at the Aiken Theatre at The Centre with his wife, Sandra.
New York-based Shen Yun brings 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to the world through classically trained dancers, award-winning singers, and a full orchestra comprised of both Eastern and Western instruments.
Mrs. Spice was impressed that Shen Yun came to a town as small as Evansville. As a world-class performance that sells out at the world’s top venues—such as Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington, the London Coliseum—it might seem to some like Evansville would be out of the way.
But each year Shen Yun visits more cities than the prior year. More than 400 performances are planned for the 2013–14 season.
And after every performance, audiences are delighted with what they have experienced.
Mr. Spice, once the Boy Scouts of America National Director of High Adventure, felt that he understood more about Chinese culture after seeing the performance. Shen Yun “helped bring the various dynasties into focus,” he said.
Mrs. Spice, on the other hand, was intrigued by Shen Yun’s hundreds of handmade costumes. “I would have loved to have been able to go up and feel the fabric,” she said. Although now retired, Mrs. Spice was formerly a home economics teacher.
“Shen Yun’s costume artists collect countless designs of traditional attire, ranging from those of emperors, ministers, and generals to the everyday clothing of the common people. They use bright colors to tailor and recreate hundreds of new pieces each season,” according to the company’s website.
Each having found something to please them, the Spices will be happy to tell their friends to attend.
Reporting by Catherine Wen and Sharon Kilarski
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.
