HOUSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts’ revival of a once almost-lost culture brought inspiration for the New Year to the lively audience at the Jones Hall for the Performing Arts in Houston, Dec. 31.
“I think it’s fantastic, fantastic,” said Mr. Anthony Nocella, banker and former Franklin Bank CEO. Mr. Nocella said the performance had left him with tranquility.
“The look of the background and the flowing of the silk—when they did that, it just made you feel,” Mr. Nocella said.
New York-based Shen Yun brings 5,000 years of Chinese civilization to the stage with traditional Chinese dance, an animated backdrop, solo vocalists, and an orchestra combining East and West. Every aspect of Shen Yun’s all-new performance every season shows the deeply spiritual traditional Chinese culture and values.
“The peaceful, spiritual sense ... that was really, really very touching,” Mr. Nocella said.
Mr. Nocella attended the performance with his wife Ruth, who marveled at the costumes and all the connections she saw throughout the show. Shen Yun’s costumes give the audience an authentic sense of traditional Chinese attire, according to the website, which is said to be inspired by heavenly attire.
“You can see the connection between the water, the flowers, the nature, the spirit—we’re all connected. It’s just gorgeous,” Mrs. Nocella said.
A Revival
Viktor Miachyn and his friends Subir and Rini Bhattacharjee, and their daughter Rikita, said they felt Shen Yun was a powerful performance.
“It gives you hope,” said Ms. Rikita Bhattacharjee. “That there’s still a chance of things happening the way things were shown in Shen Yun. A blending of cultural differences. Everything is revived, completely.”
Ms. Bhattacharjee, a student, has been taking piano and vocal lessons for 10 years. She said she came to the performance with an intent to focus on Shen Yun Orchestra, which is unique in its instrumentation.
“It was amazing, really, because the Western orchestra blending with the classical [Chinese] instruments ... when you see the Eastern cultures and Western cultures blend together, that’s really when the most, highest level of performance can be achieved,” Ms. Bhattacharjee said.
Mrs. Bhattacharjee said that in watching Shen Yun, she felt a revival of the values found in Buddhism. According to Shen Yun’s website, values such as benevolence, wisdom, propriety, and respect for the heavens are ideals found in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, and make up the core of traditional Chinese culture.
Mrs. Bhattacharjee said she saw ideas like love and peace being highlighted through the performance.
Mr. Bhattacharjee, a senior engineer for ExxonMobil, said Shen Yun showed the traditional culture from the ancient up to modern times.
“It was excellent, very well choreographed, very dynamic,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said. “It’s top-notch.”
Mr. Miachyn, who works in finance, said watching Shen Yun inspired him philosophically as well. “I’m going to be a better person,” he said with a laugh.
“It was a great performance,” Mr. Miachyn said, adding that it left him with a feeling of joy, revival of traditional Chinese ideals, and was enlightening.
“Kind of a harmony that people and heaven are all coming from the same source,” Mr. Miachyn said. “It was very powerful.”
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.
