Shen Yun’s performance moved audience members in San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House on Jan. 3.
“Just their abilities, their connection, the fluidity—it’s just mind-blowing, it’s so incredible. And the fact that it’s so uplifting, and full of joy and full of inspiration, is how it should be. That’s what we need during these times right now. Definitely,” said Denyse Jones, an interior designer.
“And very much we need to become more concerned about each other, and the happiness that we can bring into each other’s lives, very significant,” said George Havach, former technical editor for USGS. “I think Shen Yun is doing that. It’s exemplifying, it’s animating, it’s enacting the spirit of recovery, of renewal, and of finally reawakening of each other.”
Many theatergoers appreciated the choreography, composition, and energy showcasing traditional culture on stage.
“It’s interesting to see some of the more traditional European ones [history and culture] have some of the same aspects in their opera and different things, and so it is interesting to see the two juxtapositions, it comes out a little bit more,” said Les Sherry, vice president of National Sales Services at Kaiser Permanente.
“I think overall it was beautifully arranged. The projection in the back is very nicely done. Of course all the dancers are superb. Very well-practiced,” said Arun Joshi, CEO of Visulon Inc.
“There were these really happy moments where you feel really joyful and find yourself laughing, and these other moments where you see someone being persecuted and it’s just really heartbreaking. So it takes you on that emotional ride along with the dancers in a way,” said Alyssum Maguire, executive director of Progress Ranch Treatment Services. “That’s such a beautiful way of experiencing a story, and it’s a really powerful way of experiencing a story and a message.”
Maguire said she has a greater appreciation for the freedom she has in the United States.
Under China’s communist regime, those with spiritual beliefs are persecuted for their faith, as depicted in some of Shen Yun’s pieces.
But believing in the divine is what inspires much of traditional Chinese culture, which spans thousands of years. Shen Yun’s mission is to revive that nearly-lost heritage.
“Because you talk about the heavens, and you talk about the beauty of the heavens and how it influenced everything in this performance—and you have, what, you haven’t ever repeated choreography since 2006? I mean, that means you’re always inspired by what we imagined to be what’s in the heavens,” Jones said. “So between nature and the sky and clouds and the ocean, and everything that shows how our beauty on earth is, it comes from obviously somewhere else. So the divine in heaven.”
Shen Yun will be performing in San Francisco until Jan. 9.
NTD News, San Francisco
