PORTLAND, Maine—World-acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts brought classical Chinese dance and music to the old seacoast town of Portland on Saturday evening, Sept. 19. It was Shen Yun’s first visit to Maine’s largest city and northern New England’s banking capital.
Mr. and Mrs. Doucette and their extended family were in the audience at the Merrill Auditorium and all had a great time.
Mr. Doucette said it was an excellent performance. “I enjoyed it very, very much,” he said.
Mrs. Doucette, laughing joyously, added: “The costuming and the lighting were spectacular. The drummers and the singers—oh my—wonderful!”
The drums were particularly popular with the male members of the family and they all wanted to see more drums.
Drums played an integral part in ancient China's rich culture. The drumming pieces in the show are portrayed in a series of vibrant dances demanding great flexibility and aerial work.
One young man in the family said: “It was awesome.”
Another said: “It was a beautiful mixture of music and dance.”
“It was awesome,” another boy said, “I liked the drums a lot.”
And the young lady added: “I liked the end performance.” She was referring to Knowing the True Picture Offers Ultimate Hope. In this piece cosmic and earthly merge in a powerful vision of renewal. A theme explored in the opening dance is revisited–that the glorious culture of antiquity was brought by higher lives and meant to sustain the moral integrity of humankind. The theme here comes full circle, taking us to the present, where higher lives are again seen entering into the world and assuming human form, this time to save people as history’s final page is turned. It calls on people to discern the truth of affairs such that they may have hope of being saved by the divine.
The elderly lady said: “I’m the grandmother of them all … I just had a wonderful evening.”
Another family member joined in saying: “I would just say that it was very beautiful and very spiritual. I loved the spiritual roots of China and how the deep part of China—the spiritual part of it, it’s beautiful.”
It was the first time that any of the family members had seen a Chinese dance and music show and they all thoroughly enjoyed it.
Mrs. Doucette said: “Oh, we shall tell everybody [about the show].”
Shen Yun will be traveling to Canada to perform in Toronto Oct. 9–11.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
