DALLAS—Shen Yun Performing Arts kicked off the first of its eight shows in Dallas, Texas, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center on Dec. 29. “It was eye-opening,” said Suzanne Jackson, the COO of a Fort Worth health care company.
“It was really great to learn more about traditional Chinese culture and see art and faith all woven together,” she added.
Shen Yun is the world’s leading classical Chinese dance and music company. Its New York-based artists offer a set of all-new programs every year showcasing classical, ethnic, and folk dances from various regions and dynasties of China.
Ms. Jackson especially enjoyed the piece where the dancers’ long sleeves billowed and flowed like the gentle movement of water on stage. According to the company’s website, these sleeves were part of ancient Chinese feminine attire representing humility and grace.
“I thought it was so neat. It was very intriguing, inspiring, and mesmerizing. I was amazed at how the dancers were able to [throw them up] and then pull them in,” she expressed.
“I wasn’t really sure what to expect originally. I thought [Shen Yun] was going to be more like a ballet—I didn’t realize it was a walk through history. It was an understanding of the arts through Chinese culture [across] the different regions.”
She also thoroughly enjoyed Shen Yun’s live orchestra.
“You don’t see that a lot anymore; they were playing music in real-time. I think you can feel the emotions through the music because it was real people playing versus when you go to [other performances] and it’s just a recording,” Ms. Jackson expressed.
“I didn’t realize it was going to feel very different. It felt much stronger having the orchestra there,” she said.
Shen Yun’s orchestra features a classic Western ensemble as the foundation while highlighting traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa, an ancient Chinese lute, and the two-stringed erhu. Together, the orchestra and the dancers on stage recount stories from China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.
Ms. Jackson said Shen Yun made her very reflective because no words accompanied the dances so “you had to make up the dialogue yourself” by combining your imagination with the hosts’ introductions and the dancers’ expressions.
She was also impressed by the three principles that Shen Yun shared with the audience at the end of the evening performance—truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
“It was a nice way to end. I think regardless of your religion, everybody can feel connected to that message and leave with a sense of fulfillment,” said Ms. Jackson.
“It’s very reflective. You leave and think about, ‘Okay, how do I make an impact?’”
Reporting by Sherry Dong and Jennifer Tseng.
From The Epoch Times
