Shen Yun Performing Arts Returns To Bay Area 5/15-17 At San Jose Center

Shen Yun Performing Arts, creators of the wildly successful Chinese New Year Spectacular, return to the Bay Area with a dazzling spring spectacular presentation celebrating Chinese culture. Based on ancient heroic legends and modern tales of courage and defiance, this spring performance brings the astounding beauty and grandeur of China vividly to life on stage and features an exceptional cast of classical Chinese dancers, internationally recognized vocalists, and a live orchestra composed of both Western and Chinese instruments for an uplifting cross-cultural experience for all ages.

Shen Yun Performing Arts plays May 15-17, 2009 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts (255 Almaden Blvd, San Jose). For tickets ($30-$90) and information, the public may call 1-888-JOY-2009, or visit sfshow.net. The show is performed in both English and Chinese.

A celebrated worldwide tour, Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving lost cultural treasures of China with an astonishing combination of ancient artistry, contemporary histories, and sophisticated technology. From the delicate dances of courtiers in the Imperial Palace to depictions of recent struggles, Shen Yun Performing Arts sets its talented performers before dazzling interactive digital backdrops evoking magnificent Chinese landscapes including the Great Wall, royal palaces, lush countrysides, and celestial settings. Divine goddesses descend from above, daring warriors clash on-stage, and heroic legends come to live in a breathtaking show that illuminates 5,000 years of culture. English and Chinese hosts introduce the story lines, and song lyrics are projected on supertitles to enhance the experience of traveling across centuries and oceans in a magnificent pageant reminiscent of entertainment from the days of the Great Emperors of the Tang Dynasty. The live orchestra accompanying Shen Yun Performing Arts is a harmonious blend of modern "Western" instruments typical of many orchestras, and traditional Chinese instruments such as the ehru, the pipa, and the xiqin, creating beautiful music with a unique new sound that traces its origins to ancestral songs of China.

The performance includes a variety of dances ranging from traditional folk dances from various regions of China, to courtly dances of specific dynasties, story dances telling old legends, and warrior dances depicting great acts of courage. The classical Chinese dances displayed in Shen Yun Performing Arts represent a revered dance heritage. Dating back thousands of years, dances were passed down among the common people, through members of the imperial court, and as part of traditional theater. Over centuries, dancers refined, experimented with, and reworked movements to arrive at the extraordinary system of Chinese classical dance known today, in which every movement represents a specific meaning. Chen Yungchia, choreographer of this spectacular cultural display, learned traditional Chinese dance as a child, and dedicated the next thirty years to the art form. "The inner meaning of Chinese dance is as important as skills or movements," he has said. (Chen can be seen in the production as the lead performer in "Chopstick Zest," a story about Mongolian soldiers.)

In 2008 Shen Yun Performing Arts dazzled over 600,000 live audience members in more than 70 cities on four continents and 20 countries, including 12,000 at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre. They are presented locally by New Tang Dynasty TV, the leading independent, nonprofit Chinese language television broadcaster outside mainland China. Headquartered in New York City, NTDTV currently has reporters and correspondents in over 50 cities worldwide, and aims to provide information that enriches the lives of its viewers, and fosters greater understanding between Chinese and Western societies.

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