TORONTO, Canada—Journalist and creative writer Peter Boisseau watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 8.
“It’s lovely,” said Mr. Boisseau. “Really well done. Good presentation, [and the] colors are just spectacular. The dances, the athleticism, the culture, the art, the creativity—amazing.”
“You had that sense that a lot of it was informed from ancient cultures and traditions that you had to be very respectful of, and [the performance] had a very good energy to it. It was something where you could really appreciate the creativity that was being shared with you. It’s really, really, really nice.”
“I think when you see something that’s genuinely creative and unique, usually there’s a tendency to kind of respond to it in the same way … It gives you a special kind of feeling, a special kind of energy,” said Mr. Boisseau. “It’s a very positive energy, and it’s something to be shared. [It’s] something universal that can be experienced by all, and it’s a very nice message, all of us sharing that together.”Shen Yun also aims to give its audiences a glimpse of pre-communist China. Shen Yun’s website states that traditional Chinese culture was deeply rooted in the spiritual teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, all of which were abolished when the atheist communist regime took power. Shen Yun’s performance depicts some of the lost spiritual elements of Chinese culture.
“I think [it’s] the message of hope,” he said. “Sometimes it seems kind of hopeless … [but] more and more people’s awareness [are] building. There’s all this beautiful culture that, right now, is overshadowed by a kind of temporary thing, a temporary empire or regime, [which] will pass like all these other ones did—and the beauty and the artistry of the culture and the history will be there—preserved.”
Mr. Boisseau added that he believed the fall of communism in China depended on the Chinese people themselves.
Lastly, Mr. Boisseau wished the performers “all the best in the world,” and added that he “[hoped] to see them when they’re back.”
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
