AUSTIN, Texas—Shen Yun Performing Arts opened in Austin Thursday evening, Dec. 29, to a full house at The Long Center.
Gregory Vincent, vice president for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas in Austin, thought the show was just a “phenomenal” performance.
“I thought the show was phenomenal, told a wonderful story about the history and culture, explained some of the current-day tensions going on, and how the present and the past are woven together. I thought it was a beautiful story, visually stunning, the music was beautiful,” Mr. Vincent said.
Based in New York, the company’s mission is to revive 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the portrayal of ancient legends, folk tales and contemporary stories in classical Chinese dance and music.
Mr. Vincent said he was touched that Shen Yun incorporated the idea of “having courage to stand for what you believe in, the mixing of art and culture and history, and the idea that this has stood the test of time.”
More than just a visually stunning display of the arts, Shen Yun’s freedom of expression resonated with Mr. Vincent.
“Our country was based on freedom of expression, for people to have the ability to say and perform what they believe, especially if they’re in a minority position, and particularly if they’re criticizing the government. So this idea of having that is fundamental to who we are, which is why that story resonated with me,” Mr. Vincent said. “I would recommend it to my students, to anyone. It was an amazing story of culture, history, yearning to be free and do the right things the right way. So I thought it was amazing.”
Reporting by Amy Hu and Catherine Yang.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at The Long Center, Austin, Dec. 29 - 30.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts
