NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—“It was outstanding. I really enjoyed it very much. I appreciated the pageantry, and also the wonderful dancing, and also the culture, which was great. Everything was so professional and so flawless.” Dr. Michael Patzakis said after watching Shen Yun with Violetta Kontodaimon at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts on April 8.
New York based
Shen Yun Performing Arts was established by elite Chinese artists in 2006 to revive the traditional Chinese culture. Through classical Chinese dance and music, Shen Yun artists share with the world the beauty and goodness of China before communism.
Dr. Patzakis, medical director of an education and research institute, was very impressed by Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop. “The way they did the background was amazing. I’ve never seen anything like that. I mean it was just breathtaking,” he said.
Ms. Kontodaimon, an actress and financial consultant, could not agree more: “Yes, it was so cinematic. The dancers, the timing, the jumping and the popping out ... I really liked that.”
At the heart of Shen Yun performances is
classical Chinese dance, a comprehensive dance system developed through centuries of refinement. It is one of the world’s most athletic and expressive art forms, and embodies traditional aesthetic principles with unique dance movements, rhythm, and inner meaning.
Ms. Kontodaimon said: “I loved the traditional dances that [Shen Yun dancers] were doing. The group dances were the best. The long [water] sleeves were great. It seemed so easy, but I mean it was so hard [to achieve] what was happening on stage.”
Dr. Patzakis appreciated the traditional culture presented in the Shen Yun programs. “I think that every culture has a tradition. And the Chinese tradition is very, very rich. It showed this evening. It was really nice to see it. And it’s a great show that they put on. It was really wonderful,” he said.
Ms. Kontodaimon appreciated the
bilingual introductions to the programs. “I like the fact that they were talking in both languages, Chinese and English. That was a really nice touch ... [as if] it took us back to this amazing time ... it’s honest and human and nice, this is the feeling that I got out of it.”
Dr. Patzakis wished to tell the Shen Yun artists that “their efforts were amazing. And for them to do what they did was very, very inspirational!”
Reporting by Linda Jiang and Sophia Fang.
