COSTA MESA, Calif.—Shen Yun Performing Arts graced the stage at Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Jan. 20, pleasing the full house audience.
“It’s a great artistic performance and I’m enjoying it very much,” said Dr. Deanna Kahn, who specializes in pediatrics.
New York-based Shen Yun’s mission in traveling around the world to over 100 cities every year is reviving the 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture, according to the company’s website.
“We are artists from around the world united by a shared mission,” the website continues. “We came together in New York and set out to revive a lost heritage. Our greatest joy comes from sharing this passion with the world.”
The dancers, highly skilled in the difficult and ancient dance form of classical Chinese dance, are adorned with handmade costumes.
“The costumes and performance is excellent,” said Mrs. Kahn. “The show as a whole is a great artistic example of the Chinese culture.”
Mrs. Kahn was accompanied by her husband, Dr. Aziz Khan, a heart surgeon.
Mr. Khan said he saw the ancient culture of China in the performance.
They both particularly enjoyed the dance When Shaolin Monks Protected the Emperor, which tells of the origin of the famed Shaolin monastery, according to Shen Yun’s program book.
Interspersed with mini drama dance pieces are vocalists, award winning, singing in the bel canto vocal technique with Chinese lyrics (an English translation is shown on the digital backdrop).
Also, accompanying the dancers is an orchestra that deftly melds East and West.
“The Shen Yun Orchestra combines the spirit, beauty, and distinctiveness of Chinese music with the precision, power, and grandeur of the Western symphony orchestra,” states the company’s website. “The result—two great traditions producing one refreshing sound.”
Mr. Khan found both the music and the singers pleasing.
“The music is really good,” he said. Overall, the performance was “a good representation of Chinese culture, Chinese dances, and history.”
Reporting by Chang Yi Yuan and Robin Kemker.
Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company will perform in Thousand Oaks at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Jan. 22 and 23, and downtown Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Jan. 25 through 27. Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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