For years, I have wanted to see Shen Yun. The dance troupe travels constantly and always performs in the LA area during the beginning of the year.

I am a fan of Classical Chinese music and dance. The dancers always seem so otherworldly with their grace and movements which are so unlike Euro- American ones that I am accustomed to.

Last Saturday, I splurged and purchased an orchestra seat and sat down waiting to be captivated for two hours. Let me tell you, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in the production.

I’m a traditional kind of nerd and if I going to see a dance performance, I like the performers to just dance. The dance itself should speak for itself.

Image how surprised I was, when the narrators step onto the stage after the first performance. The show was entitled Heaven and Earth and it examined life in China over the last five thousand years. So, having narrators set up each scene really disrupt the flow of the evening. In addition to the dancers, the audience had the opportunity to listen to opera singers. I didn’t realize until the performers came out to take there bows that there were two different singers. Ooopsie

China is an ethnically diverse and the show include many folk dances from the Qiang, Mongolian, Hmong and other dances from across the region.

All I can say is do your research before you purchase tickets to me. I generally say “oh this looks good lets check it out.” With the philosophy I’ve seen a lot of great shows with the occasion clunker in there. Shen Yun was definitely a clunker.