PHOENIX—Shen Yun Performing Arts Company graced the stage of Arizona State University’s Gammage on Friday evening, Jan. 27. Enjoying the performance were Michael DiGrazia, Investment Management Analyst and Director of UBS in Scottsdale, Arizona, along with his wife, Lucy DiGrazia, a musician.
“It was fantastic! The dancers are disciplined and talented; colorful music; the history, culture was very well done,” said Mr. DiGrazia. “It is a good mixture of culture and history of China. It draws you in.”
Shen Yun is a New York based classical Chinese dance and music company with the mission of reviving China’s 5,000 years of traditional culture.
Through dance, the unique blending of classical Western and ancient Chinese instruments—the erhu (2-stringed violin), pipa (Chinese lute) and dizi (bamboo flute)-the powerful solo bel canto performances, and modern, digitally mastered backdrops bring a vibrant and new theatrical presentation to the stage.
Each performance is introduced by bilingual emcees Jared Madsen and Julie Xu.
“I liked the host and hostess,” said Mr. DiGrazia. “They did a great job keeping us involved with what was going on.”
For more than 60 years of communist rule, ancient Chinese culture has been destroyed in China, and to this day Shen Yun cannot be seen in the mainland.
Mr. DiGrazia was surprised to learn this and noted the irony by saying, “We get to enjoy this, but China doesn’t.”
As a musician who plays the clarinet, Mrs. DiGrazia enjoyed the orchestra. She said, “The orchestrations were wonderful—very beautiful. I love the mix of the Asian instruments with the Western instruments-very intriguing.”
“Well orchestrated,” Mr. DiGrazia added.
In addition to the music, another attribute that contributes to the beauty of Shen Yun is the costumes the dancers wear. The colors are brilliant, and the objective, according to Shen Yun’s website, is an authentic presentation of the attire that comes from China’s divinely inspired traditional culture, and a consummate stage effect.
“The costumes are fantastic!” said Mrs. DiGrazia.
The dance called Lotus Leaves particularly impressed Mrs. DiGrazia. According to the program, “the dancers’ unique full-circle fans sway like lily pads in the wind, evoking scenes of a flowering lotus garden in the summertime.”
“The fans that go in complete circles and the way they use them and the way the backdrops come alive; it was just great,” said Mrs. DiGrazia.
Another engaging feature of the performance, according to Mrs. DiGrazia, are the pieces depicting courage in the midst of persecution as those in China who practice Falun Dafa meditation are suppressed for their beliefs.
“It was very interesting to see the ... conflict with the young people who were rising up and still being suppressed. It’s startling and eye-opening to know what is going on and see the oppression that is occurring,” said Mrs. DiGrazia.
Reporting by Youzhi Ma and Maria Banks.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company is in Phoenix at ASU Gammage through Jan. 29.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
