(Minghui.org) The world renowned, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts staged four impressive shows at California's San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on January 4-6, 2013.

“You Have To Experience” Shen Yun

Mr. Herb Williams (2nd L) attended Shen Yun Performing Arts in San Jose with his family. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times.)

Herb Williams, a retired computer systems manager for Lockheed Martin, attended the Shen Yun show accompanied by his wife, an administrator assistant, and their son and daughter-in-law.

“I’ve enjoyed it,” said Mr. Williams. “I thought it was very good.”

Mrs. Williams agreed. “Oh, I loved it! This was amazing!” she exclaimed, clearly awed by the show.

“The dancers were just top notch,” she said. “The grace, the beauty, and the costumes were to die for. I loved it. It’s great!”

The Williams also enjoyed the digitized, animated backdrops, with Mr. Williams remarking, “They were “fantastic!”

Mr. Williams noted the intense training and discipline that each performer has undertaken. “I love the female dancers, and how they walked around,” said Mr. Williams. “Their heads were just, I mean, there was no bobbing. Everything was so nice and smooth.”

Mrs. Williams was full of praise for Shen Yun. “Tell [people] to go see it. Tell them to go see it,” she said. It is indescribable—you have to experience it yourself. Yes! Yes!”

“I Knew It Was Going To Be Beautiful,” Says Chief Marketing Officer

Katherine Kelalcal attends the Shen Yun Performing Arts show held at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday Jan. 5. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times.)

Also enjoying the show was Katherine Kelalcal, a chief marketing officer with a local company.

“It is beautiful. Very beautiful,” she said of Shen Yun.

Ms. Kelalcal said that using the unique animated backdrops in combination with the dances is very good technique, as it helps tell a story more deeply.

She liked the fact that Shen Yun has a traditional classic feel to it, yet it uses a high-tech digital background.

She also thought the dancers were very well synchronized, elegant, and graceful and particularly enjoyed the ethnic dances of the Mongolians and Tibetans.

When the topic turned to the female soprano, Ms. Kelalcal said she was impressed. “She has quite a voice. She is a very strong singer and I like the fact that she had the words in the background so I could understand what she was saying. And it makes me want to learn Chinese.”

Ms. Kelalcal continued. “I think people are more familiar with the acrobats, acrobatic performances, those types like Cirque de Soleil. This is more of a dance, more of a story, more of a series of experiences and it is more classical, and I really feel you get a lot of the Chinese culture, so I think it is a nice surprise,” she explained.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew it was going to be beautiful and it is, so I am very happy,” she concluded.

Former NASA Architect: Shen Yun Meets Expectations and More

Martin Rios stands outside the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts after watching Shen Yun Performing Arts on Saturday, Jan. 5. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times.)

Having been told by several friends that Shen Yun Performing Arts was “fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!” Martin Rios, a former architect for NASA, decided he had to attend the show.

In the end, he said the performance had definitely met his expectations... and more.

Mr. Rios said he enjoyed every aspect of the show: “The dancers, the way they dress, everything was fabulous.”

The former NASA architect said that the animated backdrops, which depicted ancient China scenes, were “beautiful.”

Retired Fine Arts Professor Says Shen Yun Is a Wonderful History Lesson

Walter Soellner and his wife, Sandra, attend Shen Yun Performing Arts at the San Jose Center. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times.)

Also in the audience was Walter Soellner, a retired professor in the Department of Fine Arts at Evergreen Valley College. He was joined by his wife, Sandra. Their daughter gave them the tickets as a Christmas present.

“I thought that it’s very interesting that it was produced in New York and that it’s very spiritual,” Mr. Soellner said after seeing the show.

He said that the performance gives “a history lesson,” which is “a wonderful thing for people to see.”

Noting that a lot of Chinese people have lost touch with their roots, he said, “this [show] might actually be an education for them, too,” adding, “They may not know that much about their own culture.”

This phenomenon is largely due to the Chinese Communist Party's intentional destruction of traditional Chinese culture.

“Ancient relics and antiques, calligraphy and paintings, classic books and scriptures were burned,” states Shen Yun’s website. “Temples and statues were smashed to dust. Millions of lives were lost. China’s traditional holidays, rules of etiquette, forms of entertainment, indeed, the culture itself, would never be the same again.”

Mr. Soellner particularly enjoyed the dance sets depicting China’s ethnic cultures, such as the Mongolian and Tibetan pieces, which he found “very interesting.”

“It was gorgeous, beautiful,” said Mr. Soellner, adding that Shen Yun’s handmade costuming was “absolutely fabulous.”

The couple really enjoyed the state-of-the-art digital backdrops. “We were marveling at the timing, at the perfect timing that it took to do that,” Mrs. Soellner said.

She was referring to Shen Yun's backdrop which depicts life-like figures appearing as if they were flying towards the audience, and then, upon reaching the bottom edge of the backdrop, the figures suddenly, seamlessly transform into live performers.

Former Ballet Dancer Says Shen Yun “Spectacular”

Former ballet dancer Diane Wagner attended the Shen Yun performance at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 5. She says she was glad to have the opportunity to see classical Chinese dance. (Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times.)

Another enthusiastic audience member, Diane Wagner, said she “loved the opportunity to see classical Chinese dance,” adding, “I thought it was spectacular!”

Besides having danced with the Oakland Ballet for 11 years, Ms. Wagner is an actress and the producer and host of an award-winning television show.

Ms. Wagner especially liked the classical Chinese stories featured in the performance.

“The dancers really brought a lot of comedy or humor that the Chinese people had at that time; they didn’t have television back then so it was a great form to enjoy themselves and laugh and have fun,” said Ms. Wagner.

She also enjoyed the masters of ceremonies and how they explained the different stories told in the performance.

“Another thing I liked was the visual effect of the screen in the background and how the dancers went flying and then would bounce up on stage … I’ve never seen anything like that before,” Wagner said.

She described the costumes worn by the dancers as “spectacular.”

Ms. Wagner says she especially enjoyed the piece Sand Monk Is Blessed, which is based on the classical Chinese novel, Journey to the West, which tells about the adventures of a monk while on a pilgrimage to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

Regarding Shen Yun’s orchestra, Ms. Wagner said, “I thought the live orchestra was really nice. I felt it was authentic, with the Chinese instruments in it.”

Sources:
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/you-have-to-experience-shen-yun-333156.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/chief-marketing-officer-on-shen-yun-i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-beautiful-332878.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-meets-expectations-and-more-says-former-nasa-architect-332928.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-a-wonderful-history-lesson-says-retired-fine-arts-professor-332747.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/shen-yun-on-tour/shen-yun-spectacular-says-former-ballet-dancer-332855.html