(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Dan Fenton, President and CEO of Team San Jose, San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, attended the opening night performance of the internationally acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, May 15, and spoke at the VIP Reception following the performance.

Mr. Dan Fenton

"I really just want to re-state what Pete McHugh [City of Milpitas Deputy Mayor] and Forest Williams [former San Jose Councilman] have said, that this is a big thing for this community," Mr. Fenton said.

"We are the company that runs this theater. The opportunity to have a performance like this in this theater, it really is a big deal for us. Getting a chance to see something like this. I know now that NTDTV is committed to doing this on an annual basis. We will be back. We have signed a 100-year agreement," the audience laughed in approval.

"And we are committed to supporting NTDTV, and supporting the performers. The venue is here to make sure that artists like this have a platform. So for the Center for the Performing Arts we want to make sure you have a platform for many years to come."

Mr. Fenton expressed gratitude that the show had come to San Jose. "I thought it was fantastic. I thought it was great for San Jose. I think it is great to have something like this here in San Jose. The costumes were beautiful. It's just wonderful to have it here. It's been a great thing to watch, and a great thing to be a part of. Thank you, and we look forward to the next 100 years together."

The backdrop that accompanies each act lends a vibrant background to each performance and is a key element to the show, something Mr. Fenton enjoyed. "These are obviously unique and different in terms of how they blend in with the costumes and the whole story line. We thought it was really fantastic. The quality was great, the sets were great, [and] the costumes were great."

Mr. Fenton was accompanied by his wife, Denice, who said she loved the show. "I thought it was fabulous. Very entertaining. The dance ... and just what they did was amazing! The dance part was very entertaining to me, with the costumes and the story to go along with it."

Company Director Impressed by the Music: "It's a beautiful show"

Mr. Hays, director of a telecommunications company, attended the performance with his wife on Saturday, May 16. He said, "I think it's a beautiful show. I like the grace, I like the colors of the costumes, the colors are lovely--I think the whole thing, the music is restful. I really enjoyed it."

Mr. Hays, director of a telecommunications company

He shared his amazement, "To have a traveling orchestra so accomplished" was impressive, adding that, "The music is lovely isn't it?"

Mrs. Hays said, "It's fantastic. I just think the music was just absolutely right in touch and it's just beautiful. I think I'm really enjoying the music. Absolutely fantastic. You feel the music. They are just very good."

"It's just exciting to see the different dances and costumes that they have," Mrs. Hays said. "In the beginning when the orchestra starts to play, it's really ... you feel it. It just sounds very good. It's very beautiful music, and very beautiful costumes."

Mr. Hays added, "It is put together so well and the music, the movements of the performers, and the color of the costumes."

The Shen Yun performances were something of a revelation for Mrs. Hays. She said, "It's exciting, I've never seen anything like this before," she said. "So it's very exciting to me to see how smooth they are on their feet, how gentle it looks. It looks like they are just floating on the platform, which is really nice."

Appreciate the Educational Aspects

Attending the matinée performance on Saturday, May 16, were Dr. & Mrs. Deville. Mrs. Deville, who is Korean and works in investment banking, said, "It's very educational--it shows the diversity of Chinese culture. I think what's interesting is the range of the performances--the singing and also the music as well as the dance, and I think that the dance is very complex--I think that's very interesting. There is a lot of difficult choreography."

Dr. Deville, a neurologist, was pleased to see China's diverse ethnicities represented. "I really like the idea of the diversity of Chinese culture which I have studied. I have been to China three times. Some of the locations look familiar ... I enjoyed it very much."

Dr. Deville appreciated the show on a deeper level and said that he learned about China's ancient heritage, "something about the idea of divinity in Chinese culture--I thought it had been erased over the last 50 years, but it's still alive and well. So, the idea of something greater, of something greater than oneself."

Mrs. Deville added, "And there is a lot of history, which is important, even [for] Westerners to know about. So, it's nice to see more than what's publicized by the current government."

Dr. Deville said, "I think that many Americans don't know how many minorities there are in China and how unique the individual cultures are. The other thing that is very interesting about the show is the varied geography of China. There's a tremendous difference in geography that is very exciting and interesting."

Source: http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/16887/
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