SAN FRANCISCO—When tap, jazz, and burlesque dancer Courtney Decoite saw the Friday night performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts, she was impressed by the beauty and the technical skill of the dancers.
“I’ve never seen anything like Shen Yun, that’s for sure,” Ms. Decoite said. “From a dancer’s perspective they were all really well technically trained.”
Ms. Decoite’s boyfriend surprised her by taking her to see the performance at San Francisco’s SHN Orpheum Theatre. New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts portrays traditional Chinese culture in performances all over the world.
“I liked the spring dance [An Early Spring]; ... where they had the twirling [of] the cloths,” she said.
In Shen Yun, the classical Chinese dancers make use of colorful flowing sleeves, twirling handkerchiefs, and elaborate handmade costumes.
“I noticed that the male dancers also had the long sleeves, because they were talking about how the female dancers had the long sleeves to let you into their world, but then I saw the male dancers after that also had it,” Ms. Decoite said.
“It had a lot of theatrical elements to it; they were playing a lot of characters, which was nice.”
“It’s really beautiful and nice to watch,” she concluded. “It kind of takes you away.”
Reporting by Alex Ma and Sally Appert.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is performing in San Francisco, at the SHN Orpheum Theatre, March 20-24. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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