NEW YORK—Using a dazzling array of colors and dance, Shen Yun Performing Arts performed its second show in a five-show run at the Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater on Thursday night to an enthusiastic audience.
Yelena Astafyeva, a dance teacher, attended the performance, calling it “very beautiful.” She said she had been trying to see Shen Yun for years, expressing she was “very happy that it’s happened this year.”
“I love the decorations of [the] costumes. I’m really impressed with the quality of dancing,” she said.
Shen Yun, based in New York, seeks to revive the 5,000-year-old culture of China along with its aesthetics and traditions, according to the company’s website. While classical Chinese dance is at the heart of the performance, there are other aspects including colorful and elaborate costumes, a unique orchestra, and a visual backdrop, which enhance the performance.
“They’re very in sync. They are together. They kept their lines and ... they are watching each other and they dance as a group,” Ms. Astafyeva said.
Classical Chinese dance is possibly the most comprehensive system of dance in the world, with a history stretching back millennia, the website says. The innermost feelings and virtues of the performer can be easily expressed through the dance, but it is highly difficult to master.
As a dancer herself, Ms. Astafyeva said dancing in unison and using such difficult techniques is very hard to do. “Because when you dance, you have to constantly watch your partners to keep [yourself] in the group.”
If one does not have mastery of the dance or coordinates together in unison, then “it looks like a mess,” she said. She added, “It’s beautiful. It’s refreshing.”
“It’s exactly what I needed tonight,” she said.
Each Shen Yun dancer performs in a variety of colorful and elaborate costumes, that have been inspired from the dress of various dynasties in China, including the Tang, Han, and Qin, the website says. The dress of other ethnic groups such as the Manchurian, Tibetan, Dai, Mongol, and Uyghur are also used as costumes.
“The colors—they use their fabric. That’s so easy, it looks like air,” Ms. Astafyeva said of the costumes, adding that “the colors of the costumes and of course decorations. ... and a little bit of animation. I think it’s very good.”
Shen Yun was formed in 2006 and has toured the world, performing in well over 100 cities, the company says.
Reporting by Joshua Philipp and Jack Phillips.
New York-based Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will perform at New York’s Lincoln Center through Jan. 15.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
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