WASHINGTON—Adele Shapiro, a screen writer, was able to see the Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington D.C. on March 30, and thought the performance was “wonderful.”
“The costumes are very nicely made, the colors are well chosen, the music was really beautiful, [and] the combination of the dancing to the music, it was really very nice,” she said.
Ms. Shapiro is presently involved with UNESCO, organizing cultural tours to World Heritage sites. She came to see Shen Yun after developing an interest in Chinese culture from seeing Chinese movies set in ancient China.
Shen Yun Performing Arts is a New York-based company dedicated to restoring and reviving Chinese culture.
“A performance by Shen Yun is a presentation of traditional Chinese culture as it once was: a study in grace, wisdom, and the virtues distilled from the five millennia of Chinese civilization,” the Shen Yun website says.
Ms. Shapiro said she believed traditional Chinese culture was “very good” and “tolerant.”
She particularly liked Shen Yun’s performance of the dance Sleeves of Silk, which is based on a classic Chinese form of dance called water sleeves, where silken sleeves become extensions of the dancers arms, allowing a greater scope of expression.
“The female dancers are very graceful,” she said, repeating, “VERY graceful.”
The male dancers were also impressive, she said, commenting on their skilful agility, “especially the backflips with their backs straight and their legs straight.”
After seeing Shen Yun, Ms. Shapiro said, “I am humbled.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world, with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will next perform in Madison, Wisconsin, April 4-5.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
