SAN JOSE, Calif.—Diane Hitchcock said she had longed to see
Shen Yun Performing Arts for what felt like decades, and the performance certainly lived up to the hype.
“I said, I gotta go to this show. It’s been calling me,” said Mrs. Hitchcock, who saw the performance Dec. 28 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts with her husband, Jeff.
“It’s enchanting,” she said. “It’s magical,” her husband echoed.
Mr. Hitchcock, president of Hitchcock Farms, said he liked every aspect of the performance.
Based in New York, Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company and has a
mission to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization—China before communism.
Mr. Hitchsock said he was “absolutely a hundred percent” supportive of Shen Yun’s mission, and Mrs. Hitchcock agreed.
“It’s the oldest civilization,” she said.
Through classical Chinese dance, the artists tell
stories from dynasties across five millennia, sharing glimpses from ancient Chinese history, literature, and legend.
Ms. Hitchcock said she was particularly moved by a
story of forbidden love featuring a celestial fairy.
“Everybody loves a romance story,” she said.
Mr. Hitchcock said he was interested in the spiritual dimension of traditional Chinese culture. And he learned that people of faith still face religious persecution in China today by the communist regime.
“I didn’t realize that that actually happened in China until right now,” he said, noting that despite
adversity, Shen Yun had presented a story with a happy ending.
Reporting by Nan Su and Catherine Yang.