CALGARY, Alberta—Mr. Curtis, a performer in one of Calgary’s most popular theatre companies, attended the Sunday evening Shen Yun Performing Arts show with his daughter Arialle and shared how he felt about the show.
“You know it’s quite stunning [the wide] range of culture it covers. To see the dancing, the drumming, the precision, the costumes—It’s spectacular! It’s a spectacular show. And to understand that it’s in fact created by Chinese [who were raised in the West] and ... commenting on the repression of Falun Gong in China is quite amazing. It’s very interesting to have that angle.”
When asked what he thought given his professional background in theatre, Mr. Curtis said, “The choreography is a very large, challenging job, with that many performers on stage. The choreographer has done a remarkable job organizing all these people in a very precise fashion. There are so many things to like about the show. The costumes are beautiful.
“They’re amazing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” said Mr. Curtis’ daughter.
Mr. Curtis continued, “The costumes are amazing, the dancing is amazing. It’s wonderful to see traditional dance. It’s very rare for me to see something like this in this part of the world. We don’t see Chinese classical dance very often. So to see it is quite an insight.”
It was the duo’s first outing to a Chinese cultural show.
“It’s the first time for both of us. The music is remarkable. We had a little peek in the orchestra pit. I find it fascinating, the combination of the Western instruments with the erhu [a Chinese tw-stringed instrument]. … It’s a beautiful instrument. I have always loved the sound of that instrument. And the combination of the orchestra with the dance is beautiful.
“I love the backdrops. I love the signography. I think I’ve seen those kinds of images in Chinese painting, but never on that scale.
“The piece about spring was beautiful, because it’s spring. [Welcoming Spring] … The pink flowers, flowers blooming. They all looked like they were coming out of the ground and into full bloom like spring had arrived. And in the backdrop—you could see the beautiful pink flowers in the beautiful backdrop, which was lovely. It was a lovely image. So, because it is spring right now that just made my heart beat. I thought, ‘It’s so nice. It’s spring.’ We haven’t quite got there yet in Calgary, but soon.”
As the interview closed, Mr. Curtis concluded, “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s lovely.”
Shen Yun will stage one more show in Calgary before going on to Edmonton and Regina.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
