DAYTON, Ohio—“I’m a synchronized skating coach,” said Patty Schwab. “And so I came here for inspiration.” The here she is referring to is Dayton’s Mead Theatre where she saw Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s performance, on Feb. 26.
Inspiration and much more transpired with Shen Yun’s presentation of 5,000 years of traditional and divinely inspired civilization through dance, music, and opera-style song.
“I really did [find inspiration],” she said. “I got some ideas for costuming and colors. It was like moving sculpture. It was just beautiful. And I got some ideas for choreography and everything too. So, it was fun.”
“It was definitely worth seeing,” said Mr. Schwab.
“It was very lovely. It was beautiful,” said his wife.
Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its mission is to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture through dance-based storytelling of beloved myths, legends, and ancient and current history.
Ms. Schwab was impressed with “the fans, the fluttery fans of the lotus ladies” in the dance. “It was beautiful.” The dance Delicate Beauty of the Han also caught her eye. “I like the long sleeves, the silky sleeves, [and] the heavenly ladies. That was really, really pretty.”
The Schwab’s are a skating couple. Ms. Schwab coaches a competitive skating group, The Kettering Ice Kadettes and Mr. Schwab is one of its skating members. They also pair skate together. The skating group travels around the country to attend competitions.
The Shen Yun Orchestra combines two great music traditions, the ancient Chinese instruments and a full orchestra of Western strings, percussion, woodwinds, and brass. The results is a dramatic new sound, according to the company’s website.
“I liked the real orchestra instead of recorded [music]. It adds flavor to it that you don’t get with a recording,” said Mr. Condie.
Not only is Shen Yun known for its classical Chinese dance, unique blend of traditional instruments, and dazzling costumes, it is a leader in the use of animated backdrops that interact with the performers.
Ms. Condie describes Shen Yun’s choreography as being “like a kaleidoscope of movement and color, and it’s really really wonderful.”
When reflecting back to the inspiring long sleeves of the dancers, Ms. Condie said “I thought that would be really pretty for ice skating, so that we could twirl around and make those same shapes as we spin.”
Her husband’s reply, “Long ones would be very dangerous.” They both laughed.
Reporting by Ying Wan and Cat Rooney
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.
