(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts' final performance at the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House in Dallas was met with warm, extended applause and a standing ovation on Sunday afternoon, December 19, 2010. The New York-based music and dance company then left for Houston on its tour to present classical Chinese dance and music.
Shen Yun Performing Arts' final performance at the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Winspear Opera House in Dallas concludes
CEO: “Watching it made me feel very positive.”
CEO Rick Ellis attends the show
CEO Rick Ellis said if he had to sum up the performance in one word, it would be "spectacular."
"Very entertaining—it was a nice balance of educational material and entertainment, with a little bit of humor interspersed with it—it's very good. I thought the dancing was incredible, and the choreography was unbelievable," Mr. Ellis said.
"I thought the music was very compelling. It was a nice blend of East and West. I think the blend of the music was so incredibly great and it tied so well into the professionalism of the dancing. It was a very complete performance—everything supported everything else," he said.
"I thought the audio-visual in the background helped set the scene—I've never quite seen anything like that," Mr. Ellis added, referring to Shen Yun's use of a hi-tech backdrop.
"Watching it made me feel very positive, it was a very nice experience. I think what they were trying to do was show a lot of the history of China, which isn't getting out all that much right now. China's history has kind of multifaceted pieces to it, which may not be reflected in the current views of China, so I thought that was educational," he added.
VP: “The message, I sense, is one of good triumphing over evil.”
Mr. Kapavik with his mother
Mr. Kapavik, vice president of Wood Mackenzie, drawn by the artistry of it, brought his mother to the show.
“I saw it online, and just the opportunity to see the culture expressed in the music and the dance made me [want to see the show]—and it was done beautifully,” Mr. Kapavik said.
“It’s excellent, beautiful. The dance is perfect. The choreography is beautiful, very expressive. The music is fabulous—it’s complicated but very interesting. And the vocalists were beautiful, I love the tenor especially,” he added, referring to Huan Xing.
He said he was particularly struck by a message within the show conveying the beauty of a higher power. “That message is behind the music; behind the classical dance performed. It’s such a rich culture, so expressive. The message, I sense, is one of good triumphing over evil,” Mr. Kapavik added.
Mrs. Kapavik added that she was especially impressed with Shen Yun’s hi-tech backdrop and the dancers' seamless integration with the projected background. “The movement of the dancers up into the air—they’d disappear and then they’d come down and all of a sudden appear on the stage, I was really impressed by that,” Mrs. Kapavik said.
Teacher: “It was excellent, marvelous, stupendous, phenomenal.”
Mr. Baucum said the vocalists were far superior to anything he'd ever heard before.
Also among the audience was Tim Baucum, an ESL teacher who first saw Shen Yun last year and plans to see it again next year.
Mr. Baucum appreciated hearing the traditional Chinese instruments in the unique blend of Western instruments in the orchestra, “It was excellent, marvelous, stupendous, phenomenal.”
“The dancers look very young, but they seem to be very focused. I marvel, and I’m just in awe at the practice they’ve done. One specific thing I remember is when the girls were holding fans and they would, in unison, move them so it looked like one long ribbon, intact, moving throughout the line, it was amazing,” he said, referring to the dance Plum Blossom.
“I think it's educational, interesting and fascinating”
Director of marketing Richard Gavalya took his seven-year-old daughter Alianna to Sunday’s matinee. “I thought it was fantastic—it was interesting and entertaining and beautiful, so I was very impressed. I came here with my daughter and we really liked it,” he said.
“I think it's educational, interesting and fascinating to learn about other cultures—and it's entertaining, so it brings all those things.” he said.
“They're very talented”
Steve Roach with his daughter.
Saturday’s matinee attracted Steve Roach, vice president of a real estate company, who brought along his daughter of Chinese heritage. She liked the show a lot.
“I really like it. I really like the music and the dancers. They’re all really talented,” she said at intermission.
The two were seeing Shen Yun for the very first time. Mr. Roach said, “It’s better than I expected—because I didn’t know what to expect.”
“The Monkey King, and the teacher, and the grassland dance,” he explained. “It’s very diversified, which I like. They’re good dancers. And I like the drums. They were every impressive—very good.”
Mr. Roach was impressed with the voice of the contralto vocalist. “That was interesting because I’d never heard a contralto," he said. "And the tenor was just awesome. They were both very good. So I liked that and I think there’s a soprano coming up and a baritone, so we’re looking forward to that."
