(Clearwisdom.net) Professional dancer and director Assatu Paul joined the audience at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House, enthusiastically welcoming Shen Yun Performing Arts back to California.

Professional dancer and director Assatu Paul

"I thought the show was wonderful!" exclaimed Ms. Paul said after seeing the show on Wednesday January 6, 2010.

A dancer from the age of four and directing a dance group for the past twelve years, Ms. Paul's trained eyes enjoyed the ability of Shen Yun to convey emotion and stories through classical Chinese dance, as well as ethnic and folk dance. "The sleeves, the dance. I love how it relates to women and the water and the softness of the silk. I just loved the whole concept," Ms. Paul said about Shen Yun's dance, "Flowing Silk."

Ms. Paul enjoyed "Dance of the Dai," where she learned about the Dai ethnic group and how their dance is distinguished by "fluid arm movements and flexible fingers."

"And the Dai, it's a different ethnic group in China that I didn't know about. To see the articulation of their hands--it's beautiful. I loved the hands," she said.

Ms. Paul said that it was the stories presented by New York-based Shen Yun that deeply resonated with her. "For me I think the stories were the most beautiful. The stories, the costumes... I could see the stories of the deities and I just loved it. Loved the stories that it told and the music--it's very beautiful," Ms. Paul said.

The stories performed on stage by Shen Yun draw upon the 5,000 years of classical Chinese civilization, and audiences world-wide have found them to be both entertaining and educational.

Source: http://theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/27576/