NEW YORK—Shen Yun Performing Arts played its first show this season at the Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater to an enthusiastic audience on Thursday evening, drawing out many notable artists, musicians, and business people.
Two super models, Kathrin Werderitsch and Simone Kerr, attended Thursday night’s performance and were both enthralled with it.
“I thought it was beautiful it was technically spectacular, colorful, vivacious, and energetic,” Ms. Werderitsch said. “I'd never seen any classical Chinese dance before, so it was very impressive.”
Shen Yun seeks to revive the traditional Chinese culture via the arts and dancers primarily use classical Chinese dance as their medium of expression.
Ms. Kerr found the performance to be “really happy and joyful,” which is something that she appreciated. “I liked all the group performances. I liked when there were a lot of people on stage and there was a lot of energy,” she said.
“Overall it gave me a different feel of the Chinese culture. I’ve been to China a number of times and just the joy, zest, and vibrancy like I said before, was just something I never experienced before. It was a real experience, I very much enjoyed it,” Ms. Kerr said.
She also mentioned the male dancers, with their energy, “were so energetic ... so brave,” she said.
“And I felt that energy. They didn’t even a break a sweat, they weren’t huffing at the end of it, and that’s the way they live their lives. I think we can all learn something form that, just make the most of everything and do it with energy and joy in our hearts, I guess!”
Classical Chinese dance is considered a robust and expansive art form, requiring highly rigorous training, down to the smallest movements of the performers’ fingertips and facial expressions.
In reference to Shen Yun’s short vignette-style dances, Ms. Werderitsch said: “I'd never really seen shows like that, it’s usually a story from beginning to end, and to have it broken into small, short, sweet stories was really cool.”
A Shen Yun performance is comprised of about two dozen short pieces, some of them depicting ancient to modern stories from China, as well as Chinese ethnic minority folk dances.
“The underlying stories that came through in dancing, and the storytelling that they conveyed, I just found that very moving and I’ll definitely come back another year and see it again,” said Ms. Kerr.
Anastasia Jenkins, another model who happened to attend the Shen Yun, was equally pleased with Thursday’s performance. “It’s beautiful. the way that it’s put together ... you can see that every dancer individually is very passionate about it,” she said.
She noted how each dancer “takes pride in what they do” which is a “nice thing to see.”
Shen Yun’s program book says that for thousands of years, Chinese people have danced during festivals and in the imperial court. Executing dances properly requires very specific physical bearing, postures, expression, and difficult technical movements.
“Together they work perfectly, but they’re very much acting as individuals as well,” Jenkins said.
“I read a lot into people’s faces, and especially from the excitement in their faces—it’s beautiful,” she added.
With reporting by Pamela Tsai, Sally Sun, and Jack Phillips
Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater in New York City, June 23-26. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
