Mrs. Lee also admired Shen Yun for being able to interest people of all ages. (Bei Gou/Sound of Hope Radio Network)
HOUSTON—Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee took in the Shen Yun Performing Arts’ second show at Houston’s Jones Hall on Tuesday Dec. 22.
“It tells a story; the music is superb, the dancing is very acute and very refined, but very enjoyable,” she said.
“The dancers are athletes, but as well, they are artists, and it’s a combination that generates excitement in the audience.”
Mrs. Lee said she felt very “warm and peaceful in the heart” as she watched the show.
“Very calm and very relaxing, and as well, however, a very important message was given tonight, and I think it's a message that everyone should have the opportunity to see and to hear.”
She sensed this messaged through the music, the colorful costumes, and the vocal performances. It was a message of “peace”, and “the ability to be courageous in your beliefs”, she said.
“And the dancers were excellent,” she added.
Mrs. Lee also admired Shen Yun for being able to interest people of all ages.
“It's enormously positive. It's a performance for families, for children—I saw many children in the audience, and they were very, very excited, and I think this is a very, very special performance for children.”
And lucky for Houstonians, Shen Yun is performing during the holiday season in their city.
“The families can be together with such a positive powerful story,” she said.
“I'm so glad that Houston is one of the major cities that will have the opportunity to see this great and wonderful story being told musically for many years to come.”
This was the second year the congresswoman was attending the Shen Yun performance, and she’s planning to attend the show again.
“I'd love to see it again,” she said, adding “Shen Yun is an important history of China, but it's also a current story of Chinese people ... now the story's being told and so many Americans will have the chance to see this beautiful story.”
Referring to the dance performances depicting the persecution of Falun Gong in today’s China by the hand of the Chinese communist regime, Mrs. Lee said the show “was a good teaching opportunity for so many of us to learn about the story of Falun Gong and the ability for it to remain strong, even in spite of so many obstacles.”
“It was a beautiful show, and it showed the spirituality of China and the people, and their love and their willingness and their ability to overcome hatred,” she said.
“It was colorful, it was musical, it was inspirational. It's a show that everyone should see.”
Shen Yun will be performing one more show in Houston on Dec. 23. For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org/houston
With reporting by NTDTV and Sound of Hope Radio Network
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The final curtain call at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance, at Jones Hall, Houston, Texas
Congrsswoman Sheila Jackson at the Shen Yun Performance in Houston, Texas
Dec 22, 2009
The sold-out perfermance of Shen Yun in Jones Hall
Shen Yun Performancing Arts in Houston with a sold-out audience in Jones Hall
Mayor on Shen Yun: ‘In two hours, you go through thousands of years’
Epoch Times Staff Created: Dec 21, 2009 Last Updated: Dec 22, 2009
Shen Yun Performing Arts captivated Texans in Houston. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)
HOUSTON—Shen Yun Performing Arts captivated Texans with its portrayal of 5000 years of Chinese history and culture at its opening show in Houston at Jones Hall on Monday Dec. 21.
“The performance was truly dazzling. The thing that captivated me was [that] it takes you literally thousands of years to the Chinese culture and people,” said Mayor Leonard Scarcella of the City of Stafford.
“You get a feel and a flavor that you really don't have with Western culture because of the tremendous length of time and development of Chinese culture and all of the steps it had taken.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts is a New York-based dance and music company that aims to revive the true, five-millennia-old artistic tradition of China.
Commenting further on the show, Mr. Scarcella said: “You see it from literally … almost beginning of humankind to where you have [the] situation at the end that is the current administration and … suppression of people,” referring to the current period in China where the Chinese Communist Party is in power.
“You have a feel here that is very unique to Westerners. And that's what captivated me most about it, in addition to the beauty and eloquence of the dancers and performers,” said the mayor of 40 years.
Mr. Scarcella said what motivated him the most about the dances was the eloquence and the beauty perceptible in the performers themselves, as well as in their costumes.
“It’s something that explodes. [For] someone who likes to think and enjoy more culture and performances, I get a flavor out of this that you rarely get out of other performances; very gratifying that I was able to see this,” he said, adding that the dancing is very “well-timed” and “delicate in nature.”
He was also impressed by how “broad” the show is and “how many various steps and activities they do.”
In addition to stunning dance performances, Shen Yun also features solo performances by world-renowned vocalist as well as a live orchestra consisting of Western and Eastern classical instruments.
“So many times in dance you're looking at the performer mostly; he may be in a white outfit, but the color that's here is so terrific. That's why I say it's dazzling; the color consolidated with the dancing palate that brings out something you don't always see.”
Mr. Scarcella also noted the delicacy and feminity portrayed by the female dancers.
“I love the women when they were doing their dances in a very tasteful and yet eloquent way ... that is what entertained me the most.”
Concluding his remarks on the show, Mr. Scarcella said, “In two hours, you go through thousands of years.”
“The movement through time you can see, and yet the strong message of morality and striving to reach the apparent goal, that’s all there, believing upon your faith very fervently,” he said.
“Not just meant to be entertainment, it's meant to deliver a message.”
Shen Yun will be performing two more shows in Houston on Dec. 22 and 23. For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org/houston
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
State Representative Thanks Shen Yun for Visiting Houston
Epoch Times Staff Created: Dec 21, 2009 Last Updated: Dec 21, 2009
Dr. Alma A. Allen gave a speech at a reception held after the Shen Yun opening show in Houston. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)
HOUSTON—Texas State Representative Dr. Alma A. Allen gave a speech at a reception held after the Shen Yun opening show in Houston at Jones Hall on Monday Dec. 21, thanking the organizers “for bringing this beautiful show to our beautiful city.”
"Christmas is not complete unless I see something from the arts, and this has been very, very, very special," she told the crowd.
Prior to being elected as a State Representative, Dr. Allen was elected to the State Board of Education for over a decade. She holds both her Masters and Doctorate degree in education.
This is her second year seeing the show and she plans to see it next year as well.
"I hope you have Houston on your tour list and we hope that you come back again," she said.
She thanked the New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts for the cultural learning experience.
"The show was absolutely lovely and I think many of the people in the audience will agree with me," she said.
"So thank you very, very much for sharing your—not only your performing arts, but sharing your culture with us."
Shen Yun will be performing two more shows in Houston on Dec. 22 and 23. For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org/houston
With reporting by Sound of Hope Radio Network
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Shen Yun Performance Day
Based in New York, Shen Yun Performing Arts is a premier Chinese dance and music company. The extraordinary world-class show was inspired by the legends and divine beauty of traditional Chinese culture. It seeks to produce an art that is not only rich, relevant, and inspiring, but also one that offers audiences of all ages a rare experience of consummate beauty and goodness.
Since its inaugural 2006-07 season, Shen Yun has performed 600+ performances in over 100 cities around the globe and quickly won the hearts of millions.
On December 21-23, Shen Yun Perfoming Arts will perform at Jones Hall in Houston, Texas.
Therefore, I, Mayor Bill White, Mayor of the City of Houston, Texas, do hereby proclaim Monday, December 21, 29009 as Shen Performance Day in Houston, Texas.