OTTAWA—Former diplomat Brian McAdam attended the fourth Ottawa presentation by Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Arts Centre on Thursday and came away greatly appreciating the revival of the lost ancient Chinese traditional culture.
“It was dazzling, it was charming and exquisite. Fabulous show. I think everybody of any age would enjoy it,” said Mr. McAdam about New York-based Shen Yun’s performance of classical Chinese dance.
Mr. McAdam spent two terms in Hong Kong and has extensive exposure to Chinese culture. He has grown to admire the traditional Chinese value system but also condemned the current communist regime in China for destroying it.
“After the communists came into power in 1949, [and later instigated] the cultural revolution, they tried to destroy all the traditional values and culture of the Chinese civilization which is just absolutely horrible,” Mr. McAdam said.
“There’s been this huge vacuum of the traditional Chinese culture [that is] being shown to the world.”
Formed in 2006, Shen Yun’s mission is “to reclaim and renew the true, divinely inspired cultural heritage of China,” according to the program book.
According to Mr. McAdam, Shen Yun has achieved their mission with a performance of classical Chinese dance, music, and singing.
“I’m so glad this is being revived and coming out again ... it’s fabulous,” said Mr. McAdam.
“It [Shen Yun’s performance] depicts many, many things; it depicts the traditional classical Chinese dancing.” said Mr. McAdam.
Within classical Chinese dance, the basis of Shen Yun’s performance, lie China’s rich cultural traditions, which allow its movements to be deeply expressive. According to the program book, classical Chinese dance is capable of depicting scenes from any time period in a strikingly vivid way.
“I think they captured people’s emotions rather than just a normal performance. [I think] people saw a lot of meaning behind the dances and the trail of the story,” said Mr. McAdam.
Another theme that emerged from the presentation is the triumph of good (or love) over evil. “The theme is love vs. evil, which is again a very universal idea and people, dance, music have always been part of every culture and these values are so important to every culture
“You’re showing how this has been a part of China for 5,000 years,” said Mr. McAdam.
The performance consisted of 22 pieces including dances, re-enactments of ancient Chinese legends, as well as solo singing performances.
Mr. McAdam appreciated that there was “a lot of gaiety and fun and happiness that’s shown in the dances.”
“I honestly just enjoy the happiness parts of it,” he said.
“It was very well put together I must say. I don’t know how to put it into words. I just enjoyed being there,” said Mr. McAdam.
Reporting by NTD Television and Rahul Vaidyanath
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. The Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will continue at the National Arts Centre until Dec. 23. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
