DENVER—“The performance was astonishing—truly beautiful! We enjoyed it very much,” Bill Smith, a project manager, told The Epoch Times from the Buell Theatre after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts on April 10. He and his wife, Lisa Smith, a mental health counselor, said they felt immersed in the joy of the experience even after the curtain fell.
Mr. Smith was especially impressed by the show’s humor and storytelling. “The comedic elements were great—really entertaining,” he said. He pointed to several scenes that stood out to him. “The Monkey King story was very interesting, and the dance story involving peaches was funny too. It was wonderful,” he said of “How the Monkey King Came to Be” and the story “You Reap What You Sow.”
Mrs. Smith also praised the production’s visual and musical elements. “I loved the costumes, and I loved the instrumentalist at the end, and I loved the orchestra. All the dancing was really beautiful,” she said with enthusiasm.
Mr. Smith agreed, adding, “Great music. Yes, beautiful music. We loved it—it was so good.”
Mr. Smith, a trained musician from his youth, was clearly captivated when speaking about Shen Yun’s music. Shen Yun’s live orchestra is renowned for its harmonious fusion of Eastern and Western instruments.
“I played clarinet, so I could hear the clarinet parts and then the erhu. It was beautiful,” he said, referring to the traditional Chinese two-stringed bowed instrument. “It was a really nice mix between Western instruments and traditional Chinese culture.”
The erhu, known as the “Chinese violin,” has a history of 4,000 years. Despite its simplicity, it often amazes Western audiences with its expressive range and remarkable ability to convey emotions.
Mr. Smith noted that his exposure to Chinese culture had been limited before seeing Shen Yun. “It was very nice to see the tradition, the costumes, and the dance,” he said. “I tried to understand a little bit of the civilization and culture that spans thousands of years. It was a really nice presentation.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company, with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Since its founding in 2006, the company has presented an entirely new program each year, sharing the beauty of “China before communism” with audiences around the world.
