SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Costume Designer Says Shen Yun’s ‘Choreography Is Really Telling the Story’

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Costume Designer Says Shen Yun’s ‘Choreography Is Really Telling the Story’
Costume designer James Cramer at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis, on Feb. 3, 2024. Nancy Ma/The Epoch Times

INDIANAPOLIS—Selling out theaters across the globe, Shen Yun Performing Arts returned to a full house at the Clowes Memorial Hall on Feb. 3.

James Cramer, freelance costume designer, had been looking forward to seeing Shen Yun for years. From the moment the curtain rose, he said, “It just continued to get more and more exciting!”

“Between the scenery, the costume, the choreography, and the narration, it all is very cohesive,” he said. “The whole artistic team has been very cooperative and very collective in the thought of how to design and tell the story.”

“The choreography is really telling the story—from the heavens to the earth—and it’s very easy to follow along and consistent throughout the show,” he added.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance company. Through the universal language of music and dance, the company presents story-based dances depicting heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales spanning 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
As a wardrobe designer, Mr. Cramer appreciated Shen Yun’s colorful, hand-sewn costumes.

“They move beautifully … and it’s choreographed so that flow of the fabric is really utilized nicely,” he said.

According to the company’s website, Shen Yun’s costumes and colors are true to traditional aesthetics and styles, painting each dance piece with the splendor of the past.

Aside from the costumes and the dancing, Mr. Cramer appreciated the spiritual aspect of the performance that allowed him to witness the traditions of China before communism.

He also felt it was very significant that Shen Yun tastefully exposed current human rights atrocities happening in China today with the persecution of the Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution campaign against the spiritual practice, which is also called Falun Gong, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.

“We can talk about it, we can see it in the news, but to actually experience it in an artistic way, I think it gets into our soul a little bit deeper,” he said.

In regards to the story-based dances demonstrating the morality and principles of ancient Chinese culture, Mr. Cramer said, “I think it really helps us to see how we can embody this, how we can be more working and cooperative with others … and that is wonderful to bring us all closer together, whatever our background is.”
“It’s extremely important that we try to find that peace in ourselves and in others.”

‘I appreciated the traditional nature of the costumes’

Nathan and Greta Clement at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis, on Feb. 3, 2024. (Charlie Lu/The Epoch Times)
Nathan and Greta Clement at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Clowes Memorial Hall in Indianapolis, on Feb. 3, 2024. Charlie Lu/The Epoch Times

Nathan Clement, graphic artist, and nurse practitioner Greta Clement also attended the Shen Yun performance at the Clowes Memorial Hall on Feb. 3.

“It was really beautiful,” said Mr. Clement. “It’s great that [they’re] showing what China really looks like ... before communism.”

Mr. Clement also expressed his appreciation for Shen Yun’s exposing the persecution of Falun Dafa in China, stating, “Americans don’t really understand the gravity of communism … I think it’s important for people to see that.”

Since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006, the company has grown from 1 to 9 equally large companies that tour the world simultaneously. Despite all of the countries and cities Shen Yun has performed, they are still not allowed in China. It is only outside of China, through dance, music, and legends, that Shen Yun has sparked a cultural renaissance.
As a visual artist, Mr. Clement not only enjoyed the color combinations of the costumes and scenery, but also the modesty of the dancer’s dresses.

“I appreciated the traditional nature of the costumes, and they seemed very respectable compared to a lot of the entertainment we have today,” he said.

“I think that beauty is important and morality is important and realizing that there’s something bigger than just the human condition,” he added, giving his impressions after watching the performance.

Reporting by Nancy Ma, Charlie Lu, and Jennifer Schneider.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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