DAEJEON, South Korea—Korean Patent Court Chief Presiding Judge, Kwon-taek Cao, saw Shen Yun’s first performance in Daejeon, South Korea, on Thursday afternoon, March 1. He said that Shen Yun provided the audience with an opportunity to gain a new understanding of Chinese traditional culture, and the entire show interpreted the heavenly kingdom with a brand new perspective.
Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company performed to a full house in its first show at Jeongsimhwa International Cultural Center in Daejeon. It was the first time that Shen Yun has toured to Daejeon. Celebrities in all fields were attracted to the show by its high reputation.
“Shen Yun is a large-scale performance. The show, combining the modern technology in its digital backdrop, was wonderful and pleasing.” Mr. Kwon said. “Shen Yun revived traditional Chinese culture and provided the audience an opportunity to have a new understanding of Chinese traditional culture.”
“The stories in the programs seemed to be close to the Buddha and contained the spiritual meaning of the traditional Chinese culture, so it is very suitable for children and young people.” He said. “One could never overemphasize the values of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and honesty.”
“I heard that Shen Yun has a high reputation in New York. Since it represents the unknown heavenly kingdom, different from our human world, it can affect Western audiences also. The entire show interpreted the heavenly kingdom with a brand new perspective.” Mr. Kwon said.
“The performers’ costumes, backgrounds, and the music were all perfectly matched. I could never have imaged that people could walk out from the backdrop. It was very interesting. It was the first time I’ve seen such a show.” Mr. Kwon said. “The story about Monkey King impressed me especially deeply. Because we are familiar with the story, it gave me warm feelings.”
“The performance contains traditional thoughts, the meaning of freedom, and the virtue of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and honesty. Therefore, I think everyone should come and see the show,” he said.
“The female dancers were graceful and appealing, and the male dancers were dashing and refined with heroic bearing. I will see the show again next year if I have the opportunity. Shen Yun has completely new programs every year, so I am looking forward to it.” Mr. Kwon said.
Shen Yun Represents ’the power of culture’
Mr. Chengxiu Lin, Professor of the College of Science at the Korea University, was in the audience. “I always respect those who are engaged in art and culture. The performers movements were extremely difficult, and they were real [not virtual] performers. Shen Yun truly displayed the diversity of the Chinese culture, from which we could feel heart-inspiring beauty.” Professor Lin emphasized the last sentence in English, saying Shen Yun represents “the power of culture.”
Working in the field of education, Professor Lin particularly noted the multi-faceted artistry of the performance. “The show contained literature, dance, and images [the dynamic backdrop]. These three factors matched harmoniously, so I enjoyed it a lot,” he said.
“I could sense the power of culture,” said Professor Lin. He was struck by the hi-tech background in How the Monkey King Came to Be, saying “the dynamic backdrop and the performance on stage were perfectly coordinated. It seemed the figures on the backdrop jump out to become real performers on the stage, because they were so well coordinated. It was interesting, vivid, and humorous. I loved it very much, because I like programs with stories.”
“I also liked the musical performances, especially the tenor. He sang extremely well.
“Shen Yun should be recommended to students. I respect every program performed by Shen Yun, especially all the efforts by the dancing artists, because they perform with feeling,” he added.
Classical Chinese dance is at the heart of every Shen Yun performance and is a system of dance that is nearly as old as China’s civilization itself, the company says. Although mastering the dance requires extensive training and athleticism, it is able to convey the innermost thoughts and virtues of each performer.
Professor Lin believed that the outstanding performance of Shen Yun’s dancers could inspire the youth. “Today’s young people only want to use their brains and mouths, but not their hands. As time goes by, I think it is important to be capable mentally and physically, and to cultivate in both body and mind. The physical cultivation basically is to train their bodies. In this regard, the dancers of Shen Yun work hard to develop their physical bodies, and we can see their efforts.”
Reporting by Lee Zhixing & Sunny Chao and Zhenen Cui & Joseph Wu.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform in various cities in Korea until March 4 and then continue to top venues in Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
