SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Painter Says Costumes of Shen Yun Dancers Are ’State of the Art’

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Painter Says Costumes of Shen Yun Dancers Are ’State of the Art’
Shen Yun Performing Arts' audience during a curtain call at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 6, 2024.. Dai Bing/The Epoch Times
NEW YORK—Karen Santry was enthralled by the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center on April 10.

Ms. Santry, a painter, said, “I like it. I think it’s excellent. Working with the background and the foreground is very surprising. I’ve never seen that before, the way they can run into the sky. That’s excellent. That’s done very well,” she said.

Karen Santry was enthralled by the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 10, 2024. (Dongyu Teng/The Epoch Times)
Karen Santry was enthralled by the performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 10, 2024. Dongyu Teng/The Epoch Times

As a Manhattan-based contemporary fine arts painter, fashion illustrator, and associate professor of art at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Ms. Santry noticed the beauty of the dancers’ apparel.

“The costumes are outstanding,” she said. “The women’s dresses are fantastic, how they can make the sleeves and different attachments—state of the art!”
Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun is sharing with the world the beauty of China’s authentic 5,000 years of history. Since its founding in 2006, the New York-based company has received worldwide accolades for its mission to revive traditional Chinese culture while free from the censorship of the Chinese regime.

“They’re unique and original, and they’re also feminine and delicate, and they have layers. The proportions of where the colors are next to each other are very, very good and very sophisticated,” she said.

The costumes sent warm feelings throughout her. “I think joy and movement, I think the [costumes] work well with the movement.”

Ms. Santry said she wanted to be nearer to the stage to experience each act.

“I wish I were closer. I would like to feel the band and the music together more. The physicality of the dancers is exquisite. Absolutely the best—they are in such good shape that they can bend into anything. They could not be more practiced and rehearsed as dancers. And they’re telling the story beautifully.”

She also enjoyed and admired the singers. “That singer was fantastic. The voices carry, and they’re not using heavy microphones or anything. They have natural talent.”
Ms. Santry resonated with the message in the singer’s words. “The lyrics are good, and I think they are of the old world bringing in the new.”

‘It’s Beautiful, It’s Transcendent’

Max Ngolla (L) and Eugene Panchenko came with friends to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, on April 10, 2024. (Frank Liang/The Epoch Times)
Max Ngolla (L) and Eugene Panchenko came with friends to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, on April 10, 2024. Frank Liang/The Epoch Times
Max Ngolla and Eugene Panchenko came to see Shen Yun with friends and liked what they saw.

Mr. Ngolla, an IT specialist, said, “I wasn’t sure what to expect. You hear all the stories about how wonderful the dance is, and how amazing the show is going to be. But the description is never as beautiful as what you actually see, and I was completely impressed by the music,” he said. “The different stories were also artistically portrayed in dance. It was beautiful to see.”

He liked the variety of stories.

“I think it’s the range that impressed me the most,” he said. “To be fighting in the air with dragons, such amazing mystical creatures, and then be back at the shop, cleaning up. It’s something that you can identify with but also something that’s out of this world at the same time. So the range was very nice.”

Mr. Panchenko, a builder, had heard about Shen Yun for a long time and finally decided to come. He was happy he did.

“I’ve lived in New York for 20 years. I’ve been seeing commercials for years and never actually made it [to a performance], but it’s beautiful.

“It’s transcendent. It has a lot of simple stories from old times, and then it brings in all the new stories from today’s China.”

Reporting by Frank Liang, Dongyu Teng, and Yvonne Marcotte.
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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