FUKUOKA, Japan—FuKuoKa SunPalace Big Hall, set against the rippling sea of Hakata Port, played host to Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company’s final performance in Japan on the evening of May 1. An appreciative audience gave thunderous applause as Masters of Ceremonies introduced the Shen Yun Orchestra to audience members, who were craning to see the musicians in the pit and waving to express their appreciation.
Iwata Shoko, director of Heisei College of Music and representative of Kumamoto, Japan, attended the Shen Yun performance with friends. Full of praise for the show, she said ancient Chinese culture is really good.
Delighted with every aspect of Shen Yun, she was particularly taken by Shen Yun’s unique, animated backdrop scenes. When traveling abroad, she said she had seen dance performances accompanied by music, yet Shen Yun impressed her with its dazzling, colorful costumes, performers with broad smiles and excellent dance skills, and the live orchestral performance.
Touched by Shen Yun’s mission to revive the divinely-imparted culture, Iwata Shoko said, “It’s a very beautiful thing to have such a beautiful traditional culture. This is my first time to see backdrop scenes from which divinity descends down to the world. The high-tech backdrop scenes help to visualize the culture.”
She thinks China has turned into a totalitarian regime and feels it is a great pity. In contrast, the China visualized by Shen Yun is very good, she said. “I hope that we can travel back to the ancient China well-known for its glorious traditions, arts and culture; going back to a world of peace and without conflicts.”
‘Demonstrated their inner feelings’
Ayaka Sakamoto, a jazz dancer who has learned Jazz dance in New York, was in the audience.
Astonished by Shen Yun’s artists’ superb technique and their powerful expressions, she said: “The dancers are well-trained, and I felt that they demonstrated their inner feelings through their facial expressions and body movements.
“The dance was full of Chinese flavor. The movements were very accurate and in unison. I have learned Jazz dance in the U.S., and have seen Broadway dancing shows, but what was performed by Shen Yun is quite different.”
“The dance connoted touching stories, and high-tech backdrops helped to give a great momentum,” she added.
Ms. Sakamoto especially praised the power of expression of classic Chinese dance and the superb technique of the performers. She said: “Japanese dance is rather soft, while classical Chinese dance is much more energetic, combining both softness and vitality. Generally speaking, the latter has more powerful actions with difficult techniques. [Shen Yun’s] dance is very elegant, and the costumes are exquisite. The dance has the power of expression. The artists are well-trained, with a solid foundation. They were able to express their inner feelings through their facial expressions and entire bodies.”
Ms. Sakamoto praised soprano Min Jiang, who sang “Heavenly Secret.” “She had no need for a microphone; she has a resonant voice with the power of penetration and influence. I can perceive a strong wish in her song,” she said.
Read the original Chinese articles. [2]
Reporting by Zhang Benzhen and Amy Lien, Niu Pin and Sophie Chiu
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
The 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.
