NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey—Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company’s exhilarating performance drew Barbara Sheehy and her daughter, Jennifer Jennings, to the State Theater on May 7.
Ms. Sheehy, a teacher of ballet for over 20 years at Bayshore Academy of Dance, was impressed with the New York-based company’s presentation designed to reawaken ancient China’s divinely-inspired cultural values trough classical Chinese dance and music.
“I feel sensitivity and beauty, along with the strength. It comes through the body movements. … The way they use their hands is so beautiful and graceful with the women,” Ms. Sheehy said at intermission.
“Even though the men used their hands in a more sensitive way, the fact that they use their bodies with the sharpness and the changing of direction, and the energy and the speed within their movements, the gentleness of the hands works for me anyway.”
Her daughter, Ms. Jennings, said, “It’s beautiful. The dancers are so strong and impressive with all that they can do. Their strength and their flexibility, and just the tumbling that they’re doing … and the extensions that they have when they lift their legs.”
Both women were captivated by an array of handmade, colorful costumes that span China’s dynasties, regions and ethnicities, that were made to move with a dancer’s movements.
“And the scarves, they’re so pretty the way they used the scarves,” Ms. Jennings added. “My mother is a dance teacher and I danced from when I was 4 years old through high school. But she’s the expert.”
One of the many features of a Shen Yun performance are the hi-tech digital backdrops scenes.
Ms. Jennings said, “I think the shots are beautiful and I think for them [the artists] it’s nice, because it gives something in the background, but it doesn’t take away from the dancers.”
Her mother, Ms. Sheehy agreed, “But I also like the formation and the patterns that they do, and the synchronicity that they have—their togetherness. And the males especially I enjoy. I like the flexibility and the strength of the men. There’s a spiritual message through the show … It’s all positive.”
They said they both found the performance to be uplifting and positive.
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is one of three companies based in New York. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Ms. Sheehy, a teacher of ballet for over 20 years at Bayshore Academy of Dance, was impressed with the New York-based company’s presentation designed to reawaken ancient China’s divinely-inspired cultural values trough classical Chinese dance and music.
“I feel sensitivity and beauty, along with the strength. It comes through the body movements. … The way they use their hands is so beautiful and graceful with the women,” Ms. Sheehy said at intermission.
“Even though the men used their hands in a more sensitive way, the fact that they use their bodies with the sharpness and the changing of direction, and the energy and the speed within their movements, the gentleness of the hands works for me anyway.”
Her daughter, Ms. Jennings, said, “It’s beautiful. The dancers are so strong and impressive with all that they can do. Their strength and their flexibility, and just the tumbling that they’re doing … and the extensions that they have when they lift their legs.”
Both women were captivated by an array of handmade, colorful costumes that span China’s dynasties, regions and ethnicities, that were made to move with a dancer’s movements.
“And the scarves, they’re so pretty the way they used the scarves,” Ms. Jennings added. “My mother is a dance teacher and I danced from when I was 4 years old through high school. But she’s the expert.”
One of the many features of a Shen Yun performance are the hi-tech digital backdrops scenes.
Ms. Jennings said, “I think the shots are beautiful and I think for them [the artists] it’s nice, because it gives something in the background, but it doesn’t take away from the dancers.”
Her mother, Ms. Sheehy agreed, “But I also like the formation and the patterns that they do, and the synchronicity that they have—their togetherness. And the males especially I enjoy. I like the flexibility and the strength of the men. There’s a spiritual message through the show … It’s all positive.”
They said they both found the performance to be uplifting and positive.
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company is one of three companies based in New York. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
