KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan—Fan Zhiming, an Amei tribe member and artist who has watched numerous dance performances, praised Shen Yun for its ingenious interpretation and perfect presentation of Chinese culture. Witnessing such beautiful scenes onstage, the artist said he considered himself one of the blessed.
Particularly touched by the erhu performance by Xiaochun Qi, he said, “Wow! My soul was drawn into the performance, thoroughly immersed in each of her melodies. Very touched, I felt my body shaking, felt like shedding tears at that moment.”
The Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company concluded its final and sold-out performance at the National Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen Hall, amid sustained applause from the audience. With long hair, Mr. Fan impresses people with his artistic style. He said he had been involved in photography, iron and steel sculpture, driftwood sculpture, wood sculpture, installations, the design of structures, and music. He has had his own band, served as an instructor of a drum team, and once made a double bass and electric guitar out of waste materials.
As a member of the Amei tribe, he found the Taiwanese Amei Dance fascinating and inspiring. “It will become an example and pattern of my future creation. Creation needs just such stimulation,” said Mr. Fan, who said he had wondered at first how Shen Yun would present Amei dance. Would it be something irrelevant?
The dance, in combination with its music, left him stunned. “Ah! It turned out to be presented this way.” Amei dance is presented through Chinese dance, fusing the Han culture with Amei culture. “Very stunning, quite refreshing. I like it.”
He said the program of the Amei dance allowed him to learn many new elements. “That’s an experience I can never imagine. This form of performance is unlikely to be seen in our daily life. I see aesthetics at another level.” He considered the performance a muse for his future creation, since dance is mostly a presentation of inspiration, and a way to express how one’s soul has been moved. “I find many details, including details of the movements. It contains things at many levels.”
Then he said enthusiastically, “The sounds of the ringing bells in the Amei dance are soft and pleasant. I like it. Ordinary bells available at the hardware store produce loud sounds. Now that little bells that produce the pleasant sound are available, perhaps the Amei tribe will start to use them!”
Suddenly, a thrill was added to his expressions and tone, turning him into an excited kid. “Particularly, I want to mention the erhu performance My soul was drawn into the performance, thoroughly immersed in each of her notes. Much touched, I felt my body shaking, feeling like shedding tears at that moment.”
He said the erhu performance by Xiaochun Qi gave him a deep, profound feeling, touching his deepest inner corner. As a guitarist, he admired anyone who could play other instruments. “Her music is able to penetrate the depth of one’s soul, bringing you a very beautiful, very beautiful feeling. I find it hard to describe it, beyond any description.”
In his attempt to describe the feeling of his soul drawn into the performance, he said, “That feeling, every detail, the speed of drawing me feels like the natural waves of wind, water, as if my soul were integrated into natural environment.” Then his body gave a shake as if electricity were passing over it. He said laughingly, “The description still makes the hair on my neck stand up.”
“I only remember how touched I felt when I fell into that frame of mind, almost immersed in each of her musical notes. I just felt touched by its beauty. I like that program. Such a wonderful erhu solo, I would like to have an encore,” he said in delight.
As a talented artist, Mr. Fan also works in stage design. As the instructor of a drum team, he made a careful observation of each program. “I have been paying attention, throughout the performance with my binoculars, to their procedures, their pattern of carrying on the performance.”
Also attracted by the one-of-a-kind, high-tech animated backdrops, he said, “I was deeply attracted by the backdrops. Very impressive, very amazing,” he said with excitement. “Really surprising. As the figures emerge from the backdrop, I wonder, Ah, how this can be connected? What a brilliant and great idea!”
He concluded his interview by saying that the performance was well worth the ticket price. He would bear all the beautiful memories in mind and share them with his friends and his fellow Amei tribe members.
Reporting by Dai Deman & Amy Lien
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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