WASHINGTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts at the nation’s capital for the 2013 season Jan. 29-Feb. 3 came to a close with a full house at the Sunday matinee at the Kennedy Center Opera House. The Saturday evening and matinee on the day before were also sold-out performances. If you missed this year’s Shen Yun, you will have to wait till next year, which is hard to do for fans of the show.
Shen Yun has now appeared in the nation’s capital for seven straight years.
Appearing at the final performance was management consultant and educator Sharon Fountain. Ms. Fountain said the costuming was spectacular. She should know because she did costuming for plays at one time, several years ago.
“I was impressed with the costumers,” she said.
She continued, “I did that when I was a student. And it’s been many, many years. Nevertheless, the costuming was beautiful; it was fluid. It gave them the freedom of motion that they needed. I was just very impressed. It was gorgeous.”
The Shen Yun dancers are clothed in colorful costumes that are inspired from clothes worn in the Tang Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and various ethnic groups in China. The company’s website says, “Shen Yun’s costume artists collect countless designs of traditional attire, ranging from those of emperors, ministers, and generals to the everyday clothing of the common people.”
Ms. Fountain is no longer in the business of making costumes, which she obviously enjoyed doing. She is the former President of the National Association for Self-Esteem, a non-profit volunteer organization. She is the founder of Performance Development Corp, a management consultancy.
Like many other audience goers, Ms. Fountain was touched by the facility with which the dancers convey emotion without speaking words. “I loved that they could be serious and sassy and convey emotion so clearly when they were not speaking. So they were conveying emotions through the dance,” she said.
In Chinese Classical Dance one learns and practices how to express the inner character through the movements and hand gestures.
Ms. Fountain perceived some general messages in the show. First, it conveys the “fight for justice.” In addition, it’s about “honoring the past and bringing that into the present and honoring tradition.” She reflected for moment and added, “It’s part of the human spirit to want to be free, and to express it so.”
With reporting by NTD Television and Gary Feuerberg.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun New York Company performed in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center Opera House from Jan 30 - Feb 3.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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