OTTAWA—Greg Kells, CEO of Sunbelt Canada, left the National Arts Centre feeling uplifted after he saw Shen Yun Performing Arts.
“That was uplifting. It’s a very a warm show [that] makes you feel good when you leave,” said the businessman after watching the two-hour performance of classical Chinese dance.
“It lifts my spirit.”
Sunbelt Canada is a brokerage business specializing in sales and acquisitions of companies too large for real estate agents and too small for merger and acquisition firms.
Mr. Kells said the show reminded him of the trials and tribulations people overcome.
“As you think about the thousands of years of history, and over and over we go through and deal with the same issues and we each find our ways to deal with it,” said Mr. Kells.
“Our history is short, and so when we think about things, we think about them in pretty short terms. Here you’re talking about thousands of years of evolution and the same principles over all those years, so it makes you feel small and part of something great,” said Mr. Kells.
“I feel that way when I’m in the mountains. It’s the same kind of feeling, it makes us feel insignificant and yet special, just like a snowflake,” he said with a laugh.
Among the all-new 2012 show’s 22 pieces is “Snowflakes Welcoming Spring,” where female dancers spin white sequined handkerchiefs in a final farewell before warmer weather arrives.
“I liked every number. I liked the snowflake number because it made me think of small but unique,” said Mr. Kells.
New York based-Shen Yun is staging five shows at the NAC this week, bringing its large-scale dance performances and unique symphony orchestra to Ottawa for the sixth consecutive year. The aim of Shen Yun is to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
Mr. Kells said he enjoyed Shen Yun’s digital backdrops and how the characters on the screens would interact with the movements on the stage.
The vividly animated settings take inspiration from China’s multifaceted geography and 5,000 years of history with some scenes transcending the human world.
“The choreography was great and watching traditional Chinese dance—something we’re not used to—was great to see.”
“These people were great, they had worked very hard to perfect their craft,” said Mr. Kells.
Reporting by NTD Television and Matthew Little
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. The Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will perform at the National Arts Centre from Dec. 19 to 23. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
