Myths and Legends Return to Lincoln Center
New Yorkers get ready: Shen Yun will be arriving at the Big Apple to kick off the new year with you!
Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is based in New York State only a couple of hours outside the city, will be on home turf early in the 2015 world tour. From January 9 to 18, the company will hold 12 performances at Lincoln Center David H. Koch Theater in Manhattan.
Since debuting at this prestigious theater in 2011, Shen Yun and New York theatergoers have made a special bond. The company has returned to Lincoln Center every year, and rave reviews and sold-out performances have become an annual staple.
New Yorkers’ Reviews
In 2011, Donna Karan, the creator of DKNY called it, “Inspirational and educational. A performance that I encourage everyone to see and all of us to learn from.”
“Wonderful entertainment,” the founder-director of the Briansky Ballet Center, Oleg Briansky, said after watching the 2012 performance in New York. “Beautifully rehearsed, and beautifully staged.”
In 2013, journalist Widyane Hamdach said, “It is divine. These performances—they bring the Chinese civilization back to life.”
“We see a lot of shows here at Lincoln Center,” said Annie Scranton in 2014, “and this was right up there with them, with the best of them.”
At the heart of Shen Yun’s performances is classical Chinese dance, along with traditional Chinese ethnic and folk dances. Anyone who has seen a Shen Yun poster or billboard will immediately recognize on stage principal dancers Angelia Wang and Melody Qin, and they will be surrounded by a star-studded cast of award-winning classical Chinese dancers.
A live orchestra that blends Eastern and Western instruments accompanies the dances. The orchestra performing in New York will be conducted by Cristian Cimei. The Italian conductor, who has performed with many of Italy’s most renowned artists, will be making his Shen Yun debut this season.
Among the musical soloists on stage will be audience favorites soprano Haolan Geng, known for her powerful and emotive voice, and erhu virtuoso Xiaochun Qi, famous for her hauntingly beautiful notes on the ancient two-stringed instrument.
And as always, the performance is completely original and completely new. The stories and dance selections will remain a secret until the audience is seated and the curtain rises.