State Department Cultural Series Director: 'A tremendous work of art'

Carole Fisher (L), Director, State of the Arts Cultural Series, and her classical piano student Diana Walker. (Andrea Hayley/The Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON—The depth and breadth of Shen Yun Performing Arts' stunning quality and skill kept State Department Cultural Series Director Caryl Fisher on the edge of her seat all evening during Shen Yun's opening night performance at Kennedy Center Opera House on Aug. 25.

"I think it was a tremendous work of art. Besides the choreography, the actual colors were just exquisite," said Ms. Fisher, who is also a classical piano player and a portrait painter.

Shen Yun is a New York-based performing arts company specializing in classical Chinese dance, stage artistry and music. Shen Yun consists of three equally large companies that tour globally. Each group consists of over 100 dancers, choreographers, technicians, and musicians.

"I was here last year as well. I really enjoyed it," added Ms. Fisher.

Every year, Shen Yun puts out an entirely new program.

"I can appreciate the artistic use of the colors. The dominant color combination seemed to be the lime green and pink, which are opposite on the color wheel. Marvelous use of color," said the portrait artist.

"I am a sucker for anything that sparkles, and there were lots of sparkles," she added.

Ms. Fisher was fortunate to gain access to the paintings of the masters stored in the National Portrait Gallery when she was just 23 years old. It was her job to replicate them so that a second copy of the great works would be preserved for future generations.

With her trained eye for detail, Ms. Fisher admitted: "There was so much that was imperceptible. The subtlety. Even the backdrops, the way they moved, and the movement in the backdrops that made it into the foreground so well. It was just amazing, an amazing production, really amazing,"

Classical Chinese dance consists of a broad variety of movements and techniques, such as jumps, flips, and hand gestures. Shen Yun choreography appears to place emphasis on the uniqueness between male and female dancing technique, with men truly masculine, and women, feminine.

Ms. Fisher commented that she loved the way the female dancers move. "There was just something about them that was fluid," she said.

The very first thing the artist commented on was the haunting melody of the erhu soloist. Having just released a CD specializing in minor keys, Ms. Fisher identified a familiar, yet different, minor key in the erhu.

The multi-talented artist commented on how nice it is to see a female conductor at the helm of the Shen Yun Orchestra, which is comprised of a unique ensemble of Chinese and Western instruments.

"I think it blended very well. It was understandable to Western audiences. At the same time, it retained the Asian influence all the way through, not only with the dancers but with the costumes and the backdrops. It was an amazing production," said Ms. Fisher.

"The staging was phenomenal, really phenomenal," she exclaimed, clearly in awe of Shen Yun.

Shen Yun Performing Arts performs at the Washington D.C. Kennedy Center Opera House from Wednesday Aug. 25, to Sunday, Aug. 29, with evening and matinee shows. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts.