SAN FRANCISCO—Shen Yun Performing Arts kicked off the San Francisco tour with an impressive performance to a packed opera house.

John Brady, a sales company president, and his wife traveled all the way from New Hampshire to see Shen Yun for the first time.

“We flew out here from New Hampshire to see this show,” Mr. Brady said. His wife added, “My parents live here, so it was a combination Christmas present.”

They were both thrilled with the performance.

“The colors, the colorful costumes, the way they move their bodies—it’s absolutely beautiful,” Mr. Brady said.

Shen Yun presents classical Chinese dance and is accompanied by the live Shen Yun Orchestra. The performance also features vocal soloists—soprano and tenor. 

“I loved the live orchestra. I loved the soprano. ... I loved the accompaniment.”

The performance takes the audience on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, right up to the present. 

Principles like benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, courage, and divine retribution, are the essence of traditional Chinese culture.

Mr. Brady mentioned in particular one of the contemporary pieces presented by Shen Yun, entitled The Steadfast Lotus. 

According to the program book, a mother gives her daughter a beautiful banner decorated with a lotus flower and the three words: “Truth, Compassion, Tolerance.” This perfect moment is shattered when Communist Party police arrive to take the mother away.

“The mother being pulled away by the communists, that was touching—it was moving,” said Mr. Brady. 

He also enjoyed the animated backdrop, which he said was well-timed with the changes on stage. “I liked the animated backdrop, they did a good job timing it with the live performers coming out,” he said.

Reporting by Gary Wang

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts. 

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.