OTTAWA—Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament Jack MacLaren enjoyed his first experience watching Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Mr. MacLaren attended Shen Yun for the first time on Tuesday night and he liked what he saw. The performance is currently playing at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre.
“I’m pretty impressed ... It’s very new to me and I’m enjoying it thoroughly,” Mr. MacLaren said at the intermission.
Former president of the Ontario Landowner Association, Mr. MacLaren was recently elected MPP for Carleton Mississippi Mills and is deputy critic for Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal.
The hallmark of Shen Yun’s performances is classical Chinese dance, an art form that is both ancient and broad in its scope. Shen Yun is leading a revival of this art, and its dancers undergo rigorous training to achieve the technical perfection necessary to perform.
Mr MacLaren said he enjoyed this traditional style of dance.
“I think it’s wonderful. The costumes are colourful, beautiful. The dancing is wonderful to watch, a little bit of culture and history thrown in there. And the story of the Falun Gong. So I’m impressed. I’m looking forward to the second half of the show.”
He added that he found it “fascinating” how the music by the Shen Yun Orchestra, which blends Western and Chinese instruments, interacted with the dance.
“The choreography was great and the music, and of course the reflection of Chinese history. I found that really interesting.”
At the end of the show, Mr. MacLaren said the performance gave him “a bit of a sense of 5,000 years of Chinese history and the culture that’s been stymied by the communist government and how [Shen Yun is] trying to revive that.”
“It was a great show.”
Reporting by Matthew Little and Joan Delaney
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
