“Absolutely fantastic … totally brilliant … I could never have imagined that it would be like it was … [it’s] beyond comparison to anything I’ve ever seen before,” she said.
“They did every dance complete justice, there was not a second of a fault,” she said. “I’m not quite sure how they managed to keep up that pace all the time … totally relentless and almost totally inexhaustible.”
Regarding Shen Yun’s mission to revive China’s 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, Ms. O'Brien said, “It’s a huge [mission], but having seen what they do tonight, I think it’s totally achievable because every single person put their complete heart and soul and every fiber of their being into [the performance] tonight.”
Along with myths and legends from ancient times, Shen Yun presents story-based dances portraying the persecution of Falun Dafa, a meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a persecution campaign against the spiritual practice, and adherents have since been subjected to unprecedented imprisonment, torture, and abuse.
“It brings it into people’s sight,” said Ms. O'Brien. The scenes on the persecution as well as the lyrics from the bel canto soloists’ songs, she said, are “thought-provoking … it made you realize how important virtues that they were singing about actually were to life in general.”
An evening she said she would never forget, she wanted to thank Shen Yun for a “phenomenal” experience.
‘Positive and Uplifted’
The Rev. Richard Bailey was delighted by the performance on Feb. 20.“Fantastic … much more than I expected,” said Mr. Bailey, “the movements and the way that you can tell the story that’s happening through the movements is a real surprise to me.”
Considering much entertainment in modern culture “push[es] that [spiritual] side of things away,” Mr. Bailey said he was “very pleased to see that [Shen Yun is] not ashamed to mention God and the divine and the spiritual.”
“It’s a very positive message that the words we’re seeing on screen … so one will go away at the end of the evening feeling … positive and uplifted.”
Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow in this noble tradition, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the company’s website.
“I think it probably helps [that the performers] work together and act more as a team, more as a unit to provide … harmony among them,” said Mr. Bailey.
“They’re not just doing a job, they’re not just doing work, it’s kind of a gift that they’re giving to the audience and a shared project—higher than just dance and work—it’s more spiritual,” he added.
“To keep it up and rediscover it and share it with a wider audience, I think, is important,” he said. “It makes us aware of some of these really quite important issues … especially when you think about the persecution that has taken place and the way that it’s not able to be expressed in China.”
Top Quality Orchestration
Jonathan Barrett, musician for the BBC, and his partner Ruth Scarrott, a consultant, also attended the Feb. 20 performance at The Lowry.“The balancing of the instruments is perfect: nobody is too loud, nobody’s too quiet, nobody stuck out, everybody is integrated,” he said. “Even the percussion, which is quite difficult to do.”
“It’s fantastic … and the trumpet player and the oboe player … they’re really top quality,” he added.
Mr. Barrett was also wowed by the company’s patented method of integrating a 3D animated backdrop with the stage performance, allowing the performers to travel back and forth between the stage and the background projection.
