(Clearwisdom.net) Shen Yun Performing Arts gave the audience at the California Center for the Performing Arts a show that presented true, traditional Chinese culture. The New York-based artists have been traveling the world to perform stories from China's 5,000-year history.

Ms. Stiles, an education administrator, is also an artist and fashion designer in her spare time

Ms. Stiles, an education administrator, is also an artist and fashion designer in her spare time. She is in charge of the business education programs at one of the universities in California. She said that this was "the first time I've seen the show ... all of it was impressive. The voices, singers, I sing myself, so the voices of the singers were just phenomenal. I thought the coordination between the dancers, that there was a great synergy between the dancers, that they were linked together and very connected, so that was very impressive. I am a little bit biased because I know the emcee, so I felt both the emcees were great and entertaining. I felt the whole thing was really done well.

"I liked them [the stories] really well. I like the mix of looking at some traditional Chinese culture and then bringing it into some of the things that are going on today, still, and maintaining that connection between history and the present day. I felt that was really well-done and celebrated the culture. I think one of the primary messages was about hope, seeking good, persevering in good, and maintaining that hope. They portrayed that really well," Ms. Stiles said thoughtfully.

"I thought they were really well done. I'm sort of familiar with Falun Gong. ... I learned about that about two years ago. Particularly the one with the family and seeing them torn apart, it shows some of the things that are still going on [Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution]. It was interesting ... that they were dressed in modern clothing, as it had more of an impact than if they were wearing the costumes the rest of the pieces were done in. That really made an impact--to see the piece done in that way. I'm sort of drawn to how they are dressed and the aesthetics of it because of the art that I do."

Mr. Erstadt, who works at Sea World, was impressed by the artists. "I felt like it took me back almost a hundred years into, just the history of the performance ... It just felt like a great diversion from all the modern distractions about China and everything, back to the core roots of just actual performance. I really enjoyed that part," he said.

"I love all the different cultures, I've really gotten into Asian cultures over my military career that I used to be in, and I've just really, really grown [to] respect ... all the different traditions and all the honor and respect that they show to each other in their culture. In a lot of ways I do [feel connected], because I have spent a lot of time overseas and especially in South Korea. That's where I learned a lot more about Buddhism and ... other ways of thinking about how cultures have gone through history. I can't really target anything specific, but I love to sometimes sit back and observe. And it seems like a lot of the Chinese culture is also ... just observing, trying to gather your wisdom before you just go out and charge on to your own adventure."

Executive drove 85 Miles to see the show

Mr. Townsend, vice president of a construction company, saw the show with his wife. "The colors are beautiful, the people are beautiful people, it's really neat," he said happily.

Mr. Townsend, vice president of a construction company

"I have seen no culture shows, though we've been to nice shows before. ... I love it. It's a little more philosophical and religious in tone than I thought it would be. ... I like it."

Mr. Townsend had seen an advertisement and thought it would be a great show to see. He and his wife made a real effort to attend. "We drove 85 miles to come to see this show from Orange County. I think it played up there, but we didn't see it. I saw a brochure and wanted to come down and see it. I came to see it because it was Asian. I wouldn't have done it for anything else."

Ms. Lambert teaches a disappearing art, making porcelain dolls. She came to the show expecting that she would love it as much as she had loved prior shows of Shen Yun. This was the fourth time she had seen a Shen Yun show. She said, "I love it. ... My acupuncturist Dr. Wong introduced me to the show. ... I really enjoy it, and I have always been interested in ethnic dances and performances, and the Chinese dance is fabulous. I loved the costumes. They're fabulous. The [high-tech 3-D] backdrops are outstanding. I like the way they integrated with the performance."

Ms. Lambert teaches a disappearing art, making porcelain dolls

The fact that the artists performed stories about Chinese traditional culture made the show even more precious for Ms. Lambert, and she was as just enamored with the show as she was at the first time she saw it. "I liked those ones [scenes] that are based on the stories--the old stories, ancient stories. It gives you a little more insight into the culture."

"I thoroughly enjoy the performances every time I have seen them, and I'll be back next year."

Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/17523/
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