SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Sacramento urban planner Wendy Hoyt has always been interested in Asian cultures, practicing tai chi and using Eastern medicine herself, so seeing 5,000 years of Chinese civilization come to life in Shen Yun Performing Arts made for an illuminating evening at the Sacramento Community Center Theater, Jan. 14.

Ms. Hoyt’s expertise in working with residents has made her a well sought-after consultant on many projects in the city, including the $456 million expansion of Sutter Medical Center downtown and the 35-mile expressway connecting Elk Grove and El Dorado Hills. Watching the performance, Ms. Hoyt was captivated by the dancers.

“Just the grace of the dancers, their flexibility—they’re luminous,” Ms. Hoyt said.

New York-based Shen Yun performs mostly classical Chinese dance, which is a vast and independent system of dance passed down through the dynasties. A unique point of classical Chinese dance is the emphasis on bearing in addition to form and technique, as “the spirit leads form, so that form is imbued with spirit,” according to Shen Yun’s website.

“There’s just such elegance and grace about it,” Ms. Hoyt said. “The costumes are very colorful and beautiful, and it’s extremely well choreographed.”

Ms. Hoyt had enjoyed learning even more about the traditional Chinese culture, through the stories Shen Yun told in mini-dramas on stage. The stories ranged from ancient myths to modern day issues, and Ms. Hoyt enjoyed the emcees’ explanations, setting up the context for each story.

In particular, Ms. Hoyt said she was impressed with Shen Yun’s use of a digital background, allowing the dancers to move seamlessly from stage to screen.

“I think some of the transition between live performance into the screen is exquisitely done,” Ms. Hoyt said.

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.