Los Angeles Theater Owner: Shen Yun 'Gorgeous' (Photos)

Feb 6, 2010

(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts completed its first of 10 shows at the prestigious Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Music Center, Los Angeles on Friday evening. Judging by comments of audience members, Shen Yun succeeded in providing an experience of sublime beauty.

Theater owner Monroe Beehler and his companion Ms. Keller.

Theater owner Monroe Beehler and his companion Ms. Keller were enthusiastic about the show. Ms. Keller said, "The coloring matches the paintings in the background--just magnificent, like handmade gorgeous, gorgeous designs. It was perfect. The dancing is great."

She was referring to the handmade costumes and how the backdrop of each performance complements the colors of the costumes.

One of the many unique aspects of Shen Yun is its larger-than-life, digital, animated backdrops that add a new dimension to each performance. Dances depicting classical Chinese legends come to life in a whole new way when characters are portrayed in the animated backdrop as flying to a heavenly realm after they exit the stage.

Mr. Beehler was also impressed with the show: "I think it's gorgeous. It's just beautiful!" He added that it was "so phenomenal."

As a theater owner, Mr. Beehler has seen his share of live performances. "I have a chain of theaters. Well, I've seen at least 75 operas in this theater and maybe another 75 ballets," he said.

"I think the coloring and the movements of the people [the Shen Yun dancers] are just fluid and beautiful. It gives you a good feeling. The projection of the backdrops is really fantastic," he added.

He particularly enjoyed Mongolian Hospitality, a dance of the Mongolian people, in which ordinary plates become extraordinarily musical with the help of ornate rings worn by the dancers. "I liked that Mongolian dance. They're beautiful. They're wonderful!"

He added that he enjoyed "the beauty of the experience."

Artist Enjoys the 'Sense of the divine visiting humanity'

Abstract painter Mrs. Mooslin attended the performance with her husband Mr. Mooslin

Abstract painter Mrs. Mooslin, attended the performance with her husband Mr. Mooslin, who is the president of an international art franchise. She said she thought the performance was beautiful and the state-of-the-art backdrops were "gorgeous, very, very beautiful--the sets are wonderful."

She especially liked "the way the music and the dancing worked together." An orchestra of classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments accompanies Shen Yun's dance performances.

"The dancers are very well trained," she said. "And the choreography is gorgeous, really gorgeous." Large-scale dances make up the core of Shen Yun's dance performances. According to Shen Yun, the dancers spend "dozens and dozens of hours" working to synchronize their movements "so they appear to be moving as one entity onstage."

Mr. Mooslin also commented on the skills displayed by the dancers. He said he appreciated the precision and the discipline. He said the dancers: "are doing very difficult things and making it look very easy. They are doing exactly the same thing at the same time, it's absolutely perfect.

"When you see a real artist they always make it look easy and flowing, you don't see the motions" he said.

Some of the dances make use of extra-long sleeves. He said that the sleeves "were brought up and then released, you never saw the hands move, you never saw their sleeves come up, it was effortless. And when they moved you couldn't see their feet move, it was effortless."

Mr. and Mrs. Mooslin appreciated more than just the aesthetic beauty of the performance. Mrs. Mooslin said she enjoyed the "sense of the divine visiting humanity, that's very nice to see."

"Beautiful, and very important," Mr. Mooslin said of the work of Shen Yun is doing. "Because I think that the company is preserving something that would otherwise be lost."

Shen Yun 'Adds to your understanding of the world'

Ms. Cendejas, president of a division of the California Retired Teachers Association

Among the audience was Ms. Cendejas, president of a division of the California Retired Teachers Association, who really enjoyed the show. "It's just an excellent production," she said. She appreciated the precision of the dancers.

"When you're watching the whole dance with 20 different dancers on stage, there's always a surprise. One segment is doing something that you don't expect. It keeps it alive and moving. You never lose interest." She said she "absolutely" enjoyed the choreography.

She also recognized what she called "the ethnic outreach." She was referring to the dance pieces depicting various ethnic groups throughout China including Tibetans, Mongolians, and the Miao people from southern China.

Ms. Cendejas said, "The singers are beautiful; their voices are just exquisite." She was struck by their clarity. "Obviously I didn't understand the Chinese, but they expressed an emotion with the song."

One of the many unique features of Shen Yun is its larger-than-life, digital backdrop that enhances the imagery and mythical proportion of the pieces. Ms. Cendejas said, "The digital backdrop was so good."

She also recognized the educational value of the show, saying, "Any time you can attend something that's authentic, it adds to your understanding of the world, and how cultures relate--how people relate. We're all tied in."

Ms. Cendejas enjoyed the authenticity of the artistry, adding: "It was a beautiful recognition of the traditions in various regions of China, which have been suppressed historically."

She also noted a couple of the show's contemporary dances that depict the persecution of the spiritual discipline, Falun Dafa. She said, "We have to remember the human rights violations that are going on and not lose sight of that." She felt that those pieces were "right on. It was very true."

Ms. Carnejas said she would "absolutely" recommend Shen Yun to her friends. "It's a beautiful cultural experience. Even if you don't understand Chinese, they've made it possible to understand ... And of course the visuals are just outstanding."

Source:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29195/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29194/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/29189/