ATLANTA—On January 10, William King, a Grammy award-winning musician and co-founder of The Commodores, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. Accompanying him was his wife Deborah, who is a retired executive from a charitable foundation.
“I loved it. We have been trying to find time to come down and see this and we finally did it,” exclaimed Mrs. King. “The costuming, the dance, the culture—everything about it was beautiful.”
“I think this time it’s different. It was excellent the last time I saw it, which is why we came back this time—but this time they combined animation with real action. The way they’ve done it is really good,” he said.
“You can’t leave the new out because it gets stiff—doing the same thing over and over again. I think classic is important, our culture is important but you should always try to find [something new within it] because that gives you vitality, gives you energy.”
“I loved the dancing and the music was incredible. The screen behind it was a thrill to me—I really loved that. How they mixed the animation and real action together was incredible—it was worth coming just to see that,” Mr. King elaborated.
The performance is comprised of a series of short pieces that take its audience through history and across the vast regions of China. Using classical Chinese, folk, ethnic dances, and solo musical performances, the artists recount tales from ancient times to the modern day.
“I loved it, I loved it. I’ve never seen or heard of that instrument before and I loved the sound,” she said.
“There’s just something special about the Chinese culture—one of my best friends is Chinese, so coming and seeing this and getting to hear a storyline—I just thought it was beautiful.”
“One thing I loved is the choreography with the music. Whoever wrote the music, whoever did the dancing, the choreography—it was seamless. It was very special,” he expressed.
Seamlessly blending the grandeur of a Western orchestra with the ethereal beauty of Chinese melodies, Shen Yun’s original composition captures the depth of the human experience.
“It was absolutely great,” Mr. King said. “I would say it deserves a Grammy. I was really mesmerized by it. It would have loved to have met the conductor and the composers.”
