LOS ANGELES—James Wong brought eight members of his family to see Shen Yun Performing Arts on July 11, its last performance in Los Angeles before traveling to San Diego on its summer tour. Mr. Wong is a producer, writer, and director known for his work in Hollywood films and television series such as The X-Files (1993–1995), Final Destination (2000), and Dragonball: Evolution (2009).

Mr. Wong said of Shen Yun, “I think it’s incredible. The dancers are amazing, the synchronicity of the dances, the tradition, the traditional dances, along with the costumes, is fantastic. I’m really impressed.”

Shen Yun is a New York-based performing arts company, that displays the traditional arts and culture of China’s 5,000 years of history. The performers of Shen Yun train for thousands of hours to present the cultural dances of China’s dozens of unique ethnic groups and historical dynasties, as well as dance pieces on contemporary China.

When asked how the dances made him feel, James replied, “Myriads, lots of emotions. Besides being incredible to see the dancers move the way they do, I think that some of the dances are so evocative—they’re almost like butterflies, the way the costumes make the dancers look ethereal. I think it’s spectacular.”

Mr. Wong was born in Hong Kong and now resides in Los Angeles. He said, “I brought my family here to Shen Yun. I thought it would be a great family experience, with my kids, grandparents, my uncle and my aunt. We have nine here today.”

Mr. Wong has several new projects in development, including a new show on NBC called The Event that premieres this fall. He is excited about the debut and reflected on how to incorporate Asian culture into his work by saying, “I always try to put Chinese culture into the shows that I do, and of course put actors in, Asian actors in the show, that’s part of my cultural influence so I try to do that.”

His most recent film, Dragonball: Evolution (20th Century Fox) is based on the hit comic book and animated series Dragon Ball that finds its roots in traditional Chinese and Japanese culture, notably from Journey to the West, a Chinese classic. The triumphant climax of the epic Journey to the West is retold in Shen Yun as the final performance of the show. The Buddhist Monk Xuanzang and his faithful guardian, The Monkey King, make a glorious return to Tang Dynasty China where they distribute the Buddhist teachings to future generations.

He concluded by saying, “I’m glad that I brought my kids here to experience it.”

With reporting by NTDTV.

Shen Yun Performing Arts has concluded its performances at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. They are next touring San Diego from July 13-15 and then onto Northern California. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

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

Derek Padula is an expert on Dragon Ball and a contributor to The Epoch Times. He is writing a book about Dragon Ball titled The Dao of Dragon Ball. More information about Dragon Ball, its history, financial success, and impact across the world, as well as its social connections to Japanese culture and Chinese legends can be found at TheDaoOfDragonBall.com .

Original article: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/38982/