OTTAWA—Shen Yun wrapped up its four-show stop in the nation’s capital on Sunday night with a performance that fitness gym owner Marshall Page called “awesome.”
On a cold but clear night, Shen Yun thrilled the Ottawa audience once more with its combination of classical Chinese dance, music, colourful costumes, and unique orchestra that combines classical Chinese and western instruments.
“I loved watching the dancing; the footwork is amazing. The costumes are just fabulous,” said Mr. Page in an interview during the intermission.
Mr. Page, who has been a fitness enthusiast all his life, has trained and studied in hundreds of gyms across North America. He is a successful competitive body builder.
Accompanying him was gym manager Joanne Lauzon. It was their first time attending a Shen Yun performance.
Both Mr. Page and Ms. Lauzon noted the power and strength of the male dancers, for example in the dance titled “Recalling the Great Qin,” in which an artist walks to an excavation site of the Terracotta Army and suddenly recalls his past as a Qin warrior.
“I like the strength in the male choreography,” Ms. Lauzon said.
“I liked watching the warriors when they were out,” said Mr. Page.
By contrast, the female dances were very graceful and beautiful. Mr. Page and Ms. Lauzon were impressed with the precision they displayed.
“Beautiful, very elegant; the synchronicity is beautiful,” Ms. Lauzon said about the female dance pieces.
Mr. Page added, “The timing is awesome, the timing is dead on.”
Shen Yun Performing Arts, a nonprofit organization based in New York, is proudly the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company.
Among the company’s artists are members from renowned ensembles and music schools, and winners of international singing and dance competitions.
Shen Yun’s accomplished choreographers aim to present classical Chinese dance, an art form still new to the West, in its purest and most beautiful form.
The Shen Yun singers included a female soprano and two male tenor singers.
“The voices are great, so clear; they’re very good,” Mr. Page said.
Shen Yun Performing Arts gave two performances on Sunday, the first one coming earlier in the afternoon.
Reporting by Donna He and Rahul Vaidyanath.
Shen Yun will stage its final Ottawa performance Sunday night before going on to Hamilton next week, then Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal, and Toronto in the following weeks.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
