MONTREAL—For the first time this Saturday night, a former Minister of Labour in Jean Charest’s cabinet, David Whissell, saw the Shen Yun Performing Arts company bring to life classical Chinese culture.
“For me it was a first, but certainly not the last, since it was very interesting,” said the former liberal member for Argenteuil. “We see that China has a lot of history, a lot of variety,” noted Whissell.
Shen Yun Performing Arts combines dances representative of different ethnicities across China’s terrain with the mission of reviving 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture and history. It includes a live orchestra, bel canto soloists, close to forty female and male dancers and two bilingual hosts.
“It’s great, and it’s really surprising to see so many people who synchronize so well on stage and who are very well coordinated,” said Whissell. “The music is also exceptional,” he added.
The Shen Yun Orchestra is a unique feature of the company in that it combines both classical Chinese instruments and traditional Western instruments. Whissell also described the blend of the two as “exceptional.”
Although saying that every dance number was special, Whissell said Snowflakes Welcoming Spring displayed the change of the seasons and was especially unique. “It’s very interesting,” he said.
The former minister also noticed recent accounts of the oppression by the Chinese regime of their classical culture and traditions. “The show calls for the opening to the world and that China must change,” he says.
Traditional Chinese culture is said to be closely tied to spirituality, something the current Communist regime condemns.
Reporting by Christine Ni and Kristina Skorbach
Shen Yun has three equally large companies touring the world with an all-new program each year. Each company has its own orchestra and vocal soloists. Shen Yun’s International Company will be in Montreal until Jan. 8 and then continue on to Kitchener, Ontario.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
