LONDON—New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts performed its first show at London’s Barbican Centre on Tuesday, March 5, in front of a packed house.
The splendour of 5,000 years of ancient Chinese culture was celebrated in stories with classical Chinese dance, song, and a magnificent state-or-the-art digital backdrop.
Founder and owner of a dragon boat leisure business Bill Handley was struck by the way the dancers’ movements could convey such inner meaning.
The dancers and the movement of the dancers told the story, he said. “You can actually understand the story from the dance, which is unusual for me.
“Just looking at the dancers, just seeing the way they were dancing, the movement and the interaction of the dancers, and the characters portraying the story—[it] was wonderful, absolutely magnificent,” he said.
On Phuket, an island off the south-west coast of Thailand in Asia, Mr. Handley has a dragon boat leisure business, which he co-founded.
He has also been involved with dragon boats in London for almost 20 years, often emceeing important events.
His involvement with dragon boats must have given him a sense of physical rhythm and colour, which Shen Yun emanates wonderfully.
While he initially did not know what to expect from the performance, he was delighted to have seen it. “I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was magnificent,” Mr. Handley said.
He said what impressed him the most was the movement of the dancers. “The freedom and what was referred to as acrobatics but, in fact, we’re told is part of Chinese tradition [together] with Chinese dance and movement.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Damian Robin.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will be performing in Barbican Theatre through March 9. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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