McALLEN, Texas—Company manager Ruben Hinojosa Jr. and Vicky Chrysler, an investor, found Shen Yun Performing Arts to be incredibly refreshing after attending the company’s opening performance at the McAllen Performing Arts Center on March 1.
“It’s very different from American culture, and I think it’s very refreshing. … It was spectacular. I’ll come back,” Mr. Hinojosa said. “Very happy we came.”
“It was really, really nice. It’s a very nice change for the area here,” Ms. Chrysler added.
For Mr. Hinojosa, the performance was a very educational experience. He learned a lot about traditional culture as well as the different regions and ethnic groups of China.
The company’s artists are masters of classical Chinese dance, an ancient and highly expressive art form dating back thousands of years.
Unlike the modern, military-influenced styles often seen in China today, Shen Yun preserves and performs this tradition in its most authentic form, as it was originally passed down through generations.
For someone who is not familiar with Chinese culture, “it very much helps when they come out and say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going to happen,’ and then you see the story unfold in front of your eyes,” he said.
He also loved the ‘water-sleeve’ dance where the dancers’ long sleeves billowed and flowed like the gentle movement of water on stage.
“I thought that was amazing. The colors, the way they would throw them out and then bring them in—those were very interesting.”
To meet growing public demand, Shen Yun has expanded from one to eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously. Each year, the artists present an entirely new program, offering a fresh and exciting experience for both returning and first-time audience members.
