COSTA MESA, Calif.—A display of thousands of years of China’s traditional values was presented at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa near Los Angeles, as Shen Yun Performing Arts played Thursday night, Jan. 12.
Maxine Casper, a Suzuki method piano teacher, attended the performance on Thursday, saying it was “terrific.”
“I loved the synchronization of all the dancers. The costumes were so gorgeous. Wonderful, wonderful costumes and such beautiful dancing,” Ms. Casper said.
Shen Yun aims to revive China’s traditional culture that was all but lost under decades of communist rule, according to the company’s website. Classical Chinese dance and music are the main emphasis of the performance.
Classical Chinese dance is considered possibly the most comprehensive forms in the world. The dance itself has a history of several thousand years and can embody the cultural aesthetics of ancient China.
Shen Yun includes an orchestra that joins together the Western classical style with Chinese instruments, creating a unique sound, the company states.
“It was so wonderful to not only hear regular orchestral instruments, but to hear the Chinese instruments integrated with it, and separately. It was just so interesting, a different sound and rhythm,” Ms. Casper said.
She added that the several solo vocalists throughout the performance “were wonderful,” while the “pianist is a terrific accompanist, and the erhu was gorgeous! Really gorgeous. I loved all of the soloists.”
The several accomplished vocalists use the bel canto style and sing in Chinese, the company states. The erhu is a two-stringed Chinese instrument capable of evoking a wide range of emotions that has a history of more than 4,000 years.
“I plan to come back for next year’s performance,” she concluded.
Reporting by NTD Television and Jack Phillips.
Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will have three performances at The Music Center in Los Angeles through to Jan. 14.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
