AUSTIN—Shen Yun Performing Arts opened in Austin Thursday evening, Dec. 29, to a full house at The Long Center.
Ms. Rachel Sibley, a writer, attended the performance with Mr. Chris Sibley, a student who works in media, and Ms. Sarah Sibley.
“It was phenomenal, I really enjoyed all [the] depictions of color,” Mr. Sibley said, referring to the costumes and the vibrant background.
The New York-based company’s digital backdrop transports the audience to heavenly realms, ancient gardens, sacred halls, and other vibrant scenes of China’s many and varied settings.
Mr. Sibley, who works with film and media, said he appreciated the use of different mediums in the storytelling, “touching on the roots of a culture with modern-day technology.”
Ms. Sarah Sibley enjoyed the fantastical element of the stories Shen Yun told through dance.
“I really enjoyed how almost every story had an element of magic or spirituality,” Ms. Sarah Sibley said. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, a culture believed to be divinely inspired. And as such its stories and legends all have a touch of the divine, from stories about Monk Jigong, with his magical fan, to a more modern-day fairy tale such as The Dafa Practitioner’s Magical Encounter.
Ms. Rachel Sibley agreed, and said the stories she found to be “very universal and accessible, some of them more fascinating,” because they were so much from a different culture.
Ms. Sibley said her overall impression of the show was that it was “culturally fascinating.”
“If you look at any miniscule detail, you find cultural emphasis,” she said, noting the use of costuming and fabrics particularly.
Mr. Sibley agreed and noticed a difference between the portrayal of male and female characters in classical Chinese dance as well.
“I really enjoyed the masculine and feminine representations as well. Where many of the male dancers seemed edgy, quick, agile … it was mixed well,” Mr. Sibley said, referring to the dance Joyful Little Monks, where the male dancers showed both the quick and agile and “slow and fluid” technique as well.
Ms. Rachel Sibley agreed, and added that the dancers were “so uniformed, that was particularly striking for me.”
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform next perform in San Francisco through Jan. 8.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
