United States: Shen Yun Performing Arts Closes With Sold-out Performance in San Francisco

An enthusiastic audience welcomed Shen Yun Performing Arts for a sold-out performance at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House. It was a sunny spring-like afternoon, on Sunday, January 8th, 2012, and the final San Francisco performance for this season's tour.

“Very impressive” is how Jamit Sandhu, who works in Information Technology, described the performance. “I really like it. Very colourful.”

Mr. Sandhu said, “I loved the silk dance and the lotus leaves,” referring to “Sleeve of Silk” and “Lotus Leaves,” two programmes from the performance.

Every costume in a Shen Yun performance is presented with brilliant colours, displaying a splendid spectacle, as explained on the Shen Yun website. Mr. Sandhu said, “The costumes are amazing. [I was] impressed by the choreography of the show and the costumes, and the way it flowed. It is a very flowing show. Very soothing.”

Mr. Sandhu said, “I loved the silk dance and the lotus leaves,” referring to “Sleeve of Silk” and “Lotus Leaves,” performances.

Also attending the performance was Ms. Nina Moore and friends. She said, “Very impressive and very well done. We had fun. It was a lovely afternoon.”

“Beautiful” is the way Ms. Moore described the costumes. “And the music was fabulous.” She said, “The skits were all equally beautiful.”

Ms. Moore recognised some things that she knew from traditional Chinese culture, “I am into Chinese culture. I saw Quan Yin and the Buddha.”

“The beauty of it is that every year it [Shen Yun] is different,” she concluded.

Pamela Hubbard and Cornelius Oosterbaan, both business owners, traveled from Marin County, north of San Francisco, to attend the performance. Mr. Oosterbaan said, “It was the first time we attended the show and it is great. Just great.”

From reading the programme book, Ms. Hubbard learned about classical Chinese dance, which has a history of 5000 years. “I was impressed to learn about the arts. And that it was such a comprehensive form of dance. As I read that, it helped me understand what I was seeing. I can appreciate what I have seen.”

Mr. Oosterbaan commented on the animated backdrop, “The choreography and the videos, just exceptional. I can’t recall where I have seen images step out of the screen to the stage like that. That was impressive.”

Both Mr. Oosterbaan and Ms. Hubbard found a message in Shen Yun. “I think the whole good and evil journey we are still on. I think that is an innate thing to think about as we are watching it,” said Ms. Hubbard. And Mr. Oosterbaan concluded by saying, “I am learning as I am going along. The message is being sent out. The [show] is bringing it to us, that is really what it is doing.”