AUSTIN, Texas—Larry Cohen, owner of a software company, and Amy Sun, a learning center tutor, attended Shen Yun’s evening show for the first time at the Long Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 28.
“It’s quite good. I’m enjoying the dancing and the music—it’s intriguing,” Cohen said during intermission.
Originally from Taiwan, Sun was eager to share her love for traditional Chinese culture with Cohen. Watching a Shen Yun performance provided the perfect opportunity.
“I love it because it’s good to have him here to [learn] the ancient cultural stories like the pig and the Monkey King,” Sun said. “I read a lot of that kind of stories when I was young. I told him [Shen Yun’s depictions] are very accurate.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company.
In the decades since the communist regime seized power, Chinese culture was forced to the brink of extinction. The New York-based artists are now seeking to revive China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture and showcase to the world the beauty of China before communism.
Cohen thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the performance and said he could imagine that what was shown on stage was very similar to what you might see in a Song or Tang dynasty palace.
Working in the tech industry, he loved the company’s patented 3D screen technology, which perfectly blends live action on stage with the digital animations in the backdrop.
“I think those are lots of fun; I actually liked that a lot,” he said. “It fits really well with the stories, and the dancers work beautifully with it. It’s a lot of fun, very interesting.”
“I love it too. That is very, very new,” Sun added.
The duo was also enchanted by Shen Yun’s music. “I really like the music. I think it’s a really nice blending of the East and West,” Cohen stated.
“It gives a lot of harmony and peacefulness—that’s what I felt from it. There was a lot of stirring music, such as during the women’s water-sleeve dance. That music really was very stirring.”
According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments.
Seamlessly blending the grandeur of a Western orchestra with the ethereal beauty of Chinese melodies, Shen Yun musicians produce a profound emotional range that captures the depth of the human experience.
Last but not least, Mr. Cohen said he was impressed by the ethnic dances, such as the Tibetan dance: “China has so many different regions and cultures.”
This season, Shen Yun’s eight touring companies are bringing their stunning performances to over 200 cities worldwide.
With a brand-new program each year, the company’s 19th anniversary marks another season full of fresh surprises for both first-time and returning audience members alike.
Reporting by Nancy Ma and Jennifer Tseng.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
From The Epoch Times
