The pandemic still felt a little scary, but it was refreshing to be able go out, said Tania. “[It] was a symbol of freedom again—being back to normal.”
Mrs. West believed it was important to revive China’s ancient culture.
“I’m Chinese too, my great grandfather is from Hong Kong. So it’s also a little bit of getting to know my own culture,” she said.
Mrs. West found the Shen Yun performance colorful and powerful. She was also impressed with Shen Yun’s 3D technology and stagecraft creating a seamless interaction between the actors on stage and the projection.
The backdrops transport audience members into the historical era that is being portrayed on stage, she said.
Mrs. West was impressed by the courage displayed in a dance piece set in modern-day China, “Insanity During the End Days,” which depicts the persecution of the ancient Chinese spiritual practice, Falun Dafa.
“You appreciated the quality of the soprano. It was fantastic. I mean … you get goosebumps with her,” Mrs. West explained.
The soprano sings in the bel-canto technique in Chinese with English translation projected on the backdrop.
“The music is really interesting. And it’s actually not as different as I would have imagined. … The use of the bassoon—I learned in Chinese culture always has a humorous tone to it. And I see that in the Chinese music, this music—it’s used very much in the same way. In this music, the bassoon is used more melodically, to carry the melody—so that is very interesting to me.”“Another thing about the music is that it’s very punctuated, so it’s very strict in terms of tempo and timing. And I understand that maybe this is a special case because you need that punctuation in order to coordinate with the dancers. And the precision is really amazing between this tempo and hitting certain markers in the music and what you see visually onstage. It’s very, very well coordinated,” Mr. West said.
