SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun ‘Deserves a Grammy,’ Says Grammy Award-Winning Musician

Jan 11, 2024

ATLANTA—On January 10, William King, a Grammy award-winning musician and co-founder of The Commodores, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Atlanta Symphony Hall. Accompanying him was his wife Deborah, who is a retired executive from a charitable foundation.

Returning as a celebration of their fourth wedding anniversary, this was the couple’s second time watching Shen Yun. Happily, the performance was as good as they had remembered it to be.

“I loved it. We have been trying to find time to come down and see this and we finally did it,” exclaimed Mrs. King. “The costuming, the dance, the culture—everything about it was beautiful.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is the world’s top classical Chinese dance and music company. Presenting a brand-new set of choreography and music each year, the company has been delighting audiences around the world since 2006.

Mr. King loved the idea that Shen Yun was reviving traditional culture, yet he also appreciated that there is always something new and expected. He thought the show was “very great.”

“I think this time it’s different. It was excellent the last time I saw it, which is why we came back this time—but this time they combined animation with real action. The way they’ve done it is really good,” he said.

“You can’t leave the new out because it gets stiff—doing the same thing over and over again. I think classic is important, our culture is important but you should always try to find [something new within it] because that gives you vitality, gives you energy.”

According to its website, Shen Yun’s innovative digital technology creates seamless interaction between the backdrop projection and the performers on stage. “By extending the stage to infinite realms,” this patented 3D invention brings to the audience “storytelling without limits.”

“I loved the dancing and the music was incredible. The screen behind it was a thrill to me—I really loved that. How they mixed the animation and real action together was incredible—it was worth coming just to see that,” Mr. King elaborated.

Following the 1949 communist takeover in China, traditional culture went through a period of destruction. Since Shen Yun’s establishment, the artists have made it their mission to revive China’s 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture.

The performance is comprised of a series of short pieces that take its audience through history and across the vast regions of China. Using classical Chinese, folk, ethnic dances, and solo musical performances, the artists recount tales from ancient times to the modern day.

Mrs. King especially enjoyed the solo performance by the erhu, an ancient two-stringed instrument.

“I loved it, I loved it. I’ve never seen or heard of that instrument before and I loved the sound,” she said.

“There’s just something special about the Chinese culture—one of my best friends is Chinese, so coming and seeing this and getting to hear a storyline—I just thought it was beautiful.”

From a musician’s perspective, Mr. King said amazing how every part of Shen Yun came together flawlessly.

“One thing I loved is the choreography with the music. Whoever wrote the music, whoever did the dancing, the choreography—it was seamless. It was very special,” he expressed.

“The dancers are just incredible. No matter how well you choreograph something, you have to have someone that can deliver. Those dancers know how to deliver.”

Shen Yun’s orchestra is the first in the world to permanently combine ancient Chinese and Western instruments.

Seamlessly blending the grandeur of a Western orchestra with the ethereal beauty of Chinese melodies, Shen Yun’s original composition captures the depth of the human experience.

“It was absolutely great,” Mr. King said. “I would say it deserves a Grammy. I was really mesmerized by it. It would have loved to have met the conductor and the composers.”

Reporting by Frank Xie, Sharon Lin, and Jennifer Tseng.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.