MELBOURNE—Melbourne’s eminent orchestral and choral conductor Douglas Heywood OAM joined the audience at the Regent Theatre in a standing ovation for the Shen Yun Performing Arts show.
An exuberant Mr. Heywood said after the show: “I thought it was fantastic. I loved the energy of the dancing, I loved the symmetry. I loved the message behind the dances. I loved the sound of the orchestra. And just the whole general theme through the show of honesty and of peace and of the fact that you can live in harmony, I thought it was wonderful. I was blown away. I didn’t know what to expect, and to come here and see the quality of the performance is absolutely stunning.”
Mr. Heywood also commented on the overall effect of the show and the lingering feeling of peace that he was experiencing.
“I’m a musician and a conductor. I’ve done lots of shows and seen lots of shows, I suppose that gives me some insight into what’s behind it. And what I thought was, the sincerity of the performance through the artists, not only through the artists, through the colour, through the use of the images on the backdrop, were quite stunning and the whole show from beginning to end had a sense of calmness in the message. I’m going away feeling quite calm and relaxed. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Mr. Heywood.
He also remarked on the variety of emotions that were invoked by the dances and the music, “recognising the anguish of the teacher trying to teach, the anguish of the mother losing her son, those were quite powerfully portrayed. And they were portrayed not only by the dancing, but also by the orchestra and the music behind it. Very powerful moments.”
An exuberant Mr. Heywood said after the show: “I thought it was fantastic. I loved the energy of the dancing, I loved the symmetry. I loved the message behind the dances. I loved the sound of the orchestra. And just the whole general theme through the show of honesty and of peace and of the fact that you can live in harmony, I thought it was wonderful. I was blown away. I didn’t know what to expect, and to come here and see the quality of the performance is absolutely stunning.”
Mr. Heywood also commented on the overall effect of the show and the lingering feeling of peace that he was experiencing.
“I’m a musician and a conductor. I’ve done lots of shows and seen lots of shows, I suppose that gives me some insight into what’s behind it. And what I thought was, the sincerity of the performance through the artists, not only through the artists, through the colour, through the use of the images on the backdrop, were quite stunning and the whole show from beginning to end had a sense of calmness in the message. I’m going away feeling quite calm and relaxed. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Mr. Heywood.
He also remarked on the variety of emotions that were invoked by the dances and the music, “recognising the anguish of the teacher trying to teach, the anguish of the mother losing her son, those were quite powerfully portrayed. And they were portrayed not only by the dancing, but also by the orchestra and the music behind it. Very powerful moments.”
