SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

An Afternoon With Shen Yun Unparalleled

Feb 22, 2016
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An Afternoon With Shen Yun Unparalleled
Bruce and Muriel Graham had an amazing afternoon with Shen Yun at the State Theatre, on Feb. 20. (Leigh Smith/Epoch Times)

MELBOURNE, Australia—For Bruce and Muriel Graham, an afternoon with Shen Yun Performing Arts at the State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne on Feb. 20. was spectacular—amazingly unparalleled!

Mr. Graham, now retired, who previously worked as a stockbroker and in the field of science, said he had an appreciation for music as his mother was a contralto who sang at her three son’s weddings, and he had two fantastic music masters at college who also gave him an appreciation for quality music.

The music of Shen Yun was “very, very uplifting,” he said.

Shen Yun is the world’s premier classical Chinese music and dance company. It has classical Chinese dance at its heart but also includes a blended orchestra of traditional Chinese and classical Western instruments, as well as vocal soloists and instrumental performances.

The Shen Yun website states: “A Western orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies.”

Mr. Graham said the orchestra was “superb, what more could one say.”

The website explains that Shen Yun’s singers are unique in the world for maintaining bel canto technique while retaining “proper Chinese pronunciation and diction. Today, these singers’ ability to do this is unparalleled.”

Mr. Graham appreciated the singing of sopranos Min Jiang and Yuan Ling.

“I have never heard a soprano or sopranos this strong or as high quality as those tonight,” he said. “Absolutely incredible! Strong and very forceful! Wonderful performance!”

And the solo erhu performance by Linda Wang touched Mr. Graham’s heart.

The 4,000 year old, two-stringed erhu is one of the most important Chinese instruments, and conveys a wide range of emotions.

“Quite extraordinary, quite extraordinary,” he said. “I enjoyed the recital very much.”

Mr. Graham was touched by the performance so much, his wife said he had a few tears, not wanting it to end.

“I got quite emotional towards the end, when they came on to say their goodbyes.”

“Wonderful performance and should be highly recommended right around the world,” he said.

“The music, the dancing and the rhythm of the dancers around the floor of the stage was unparalleled. Absolutely special, very special.”

He continued, “the dancers overall and the movement around the stage absolutely amazed me, all in unison and the costumes and clothing—It was amazing, it was incredible. They should be very proud of their performance.”

Shen Yun Amazing

Mrs. Graham, who had worked in advertising and was a graphic designer and a florist, was quite amazed by the beauty of Shen Yun, the costumes especially.

“I found that the costuming was just wonderful, the movement amazing, and also their rhythm and the way they are keeping time amazingly well, they move as one,” she said. “The costumes and the whole effect of the backgrounds and the music, it was beautiful.”

“I loved the ”Sea Fairies“ and the Flower dance,” she added.

“An uplifting experience both musically and visually. It was just enthralling.”

Reporting by NTD Television and Leigh Smith

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.

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