OTTAWA—Pierre Camu has a string of accolades that explain the two pins on his jacket lapel: one marks him an Officer of the Order of Canada, the other a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.
Mr. Camu and his wife, Marie, came to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Arts Centre on Thursday night and during the intermission he praised the dancers.
“Disciplined, synchronized, very well done,” said Mr. Camu of the classical Chinese dance performances.
“We came for that and we got it,” he said.
Now approaching 90, though looking much younger, Mr. Camu’s career has taken him from geographer to professor to senior executive.
He has served as Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Canada’s regulator for telecom, radio, and television services.
He was a vice-president of Lavalin Inc., the company that merged with SNC to become one of the largest engineering firms in the world and recent purchaser of the reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL).
Mr. Camu was also a professor of economic geography at Université Laval and former president of the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority (now called Saint Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation).
He also served as president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, president of March Shipping Company, and Chairman of the Petroleum Monitoring Agency.
Among his other honours, he was awarded the Camsell Medal by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
When asked what he thought of the costumes, Mr. Camu replied: “Beautiful.”
“Beautiful,” Mrs. Camu agreed.
She said that the colours and movements of the performance were also beautiful.
Mr. Camu was particularly enthusiastic about Shen Yun’s digital projections, vividly animated backdrops that extend the stage into spectacular landscapes reflective of China’s geography, society, and dynasties.
Mr. Camu said the effect of the dancers interacting with the visuals on the backdrop were “fantastic.”
“I’ve never seen this before. That is unique and very well done,” he said.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. The Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will perform at the National Arts Centre on Dec. 19–23. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
