The Greater Philadelphia Asian Culture Center and the Greater Philadelphia Falun Dafa Association will play host to Shen Yun Performing Arts formerly Divine Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 2 and at 2 p.m. Jan. 3 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
Shen Yun brings to life classical Chinese dance and music in a gloriously colorful and exhilarating show. Its exquisite choreography and graceful routines light up the stage, with gorgeously costumed dancers, stunning backdrops and a live orchestra.
The show is based on ancient heroic legends and modern courageous tales. A collaboration of leading Chinese dancers, choreographers and musicians, Shen Yun seeks to breathe new life into traditional Chinese culture while providing an experience of transcendent beauty.
Based in New York, the company is a nonprofit organization that is independent of China’s political regime, under which the traditional arts have long suffered; included among Shen Yun Performing Arts’ members are those who practice Falun Gong.
The company has broken ground by giving artistic treatment in its shows not only to legendary themes and tales, but to important social issues in contemporary China.
“We want to provide our audiences with an experience of consummate beauty and goodness,” says Timothy Wu of Montgomery Township, a North Penn High School graduate and one of Shen Yun’s principal dancers. “We want to bring out what is timeless and most precious from the culture.”
Last year, Shen Yun performed for some 800,000 live audience members as it toured more than 90 cities with more than 320 shows around the world. The company has previously sold out Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center. “Shen Yun performances tell us a great deal about the values and ideals of China’s past,” says Cindy Wang, spokesperson for the Greater Philadelphia Asian Culture Center “and also about what is happening in China today. It truly is a world-class performance that is remarkably uplifting.”Tickets: $35 and up. The Academy of Music is at Broad and Locust streets on the Avenue of the Arts.