HOUSTON—Having seen advertisements for Shen Yun Performing Arts in the Houston area for several years and wanting to see the performance, Royce Renfrew’s family finally did and were impressed with what they saw.

“It was awesome,” said Mr. Renfrew, a flight director at NASA. He and his family came to Shen Yun’s opening performance at Houston’s Jones Hall on Sunday, Dec. 28.

“It was very spectacular. All the colors were very vibrant. The dance was different … I liked it a lot, it was interesting.”

Based in New York, Shen Yun performs classical Chinese dance, one of the most ancient and comprehensive dance systems in the world, as well as ethnic dances from China’s many distinctive ethnic groups.

One piece that Mr. Renfrew said stood out for him and his daughter Erica was Sleeves of Grace, a classical dance performed by female dancers wearing long, streaming silk sleeves that trail through the air in ethereal patterns.

He also enjoyed the live orchestra that accompanied the dances. The Shen Yun Orchestra blends a full philharmonic orchestra with traditional Chinese instruments, producing a unique sound.

Erica enjoyed the solo erhu piece. “[It] was really cool and fun to listen to,” she said.

The erhu is a traditional two-stringed instrument known as the Chinese violin. It is one of the most important traditional Chinese instruments and, like the human vocal chords, is capable of a wide range of sounds, from birds chirping and horses neighing, to the human voice.

Mr. Renfrew said this was his first experience with classical Chinese dance and that he would tell people about it.

“I would recommend folks to come out to see it,” he said.

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

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.