SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Chinese Immigrant: Shen Yun Displays the Beauty Lost in China

Jan 17, 2014
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Chinese Immigrant: Shen Yun Displays the Beauty Lost in China
The cast of Shen Yun Performing Arts bids farewell to the audience at Hamilton Place Theatre at the end of its performance on Jan. 12, 2014, upon the completion of a successful two-day, three-show run in the city. (Epoch Times)

HAMILTON, Canada—Shen Yun Performing Arts delighted the enthusiastic audience that came to see the renowned classical Chinese dance company’s opening performance at Hamilton Place Theatre on Jan. 11.

Ms. Yu, an immigrant from mainland China, said the production was perfect from beginning to end.

New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by a group of leading classical Chinese artists with the mission of reviving the true traditional culture of China through performances of excellence in classical Chinese dance and music.

This mission resonated with Ms. Yu, who said the production gave her a feeling that Shen Yun has truly brought back the goodness and beauty China has lost for many years.

“Our glorious traditional culture, history, and civilization that we had in the past have been lost for a very long time, but they have now been found and brought back,” she said.

The success that Shen Yun has achieved in Western society makes her very emotional, Ms. Yu said, because through this she is able to see China’s beauty and hope.

She explained that she believes there are too many negative messages about China in the world today, and Westerners’ impression of the Chinese people is quite poor as a result.

The underlying reason is that the Chinese people have lost their authentic traditional culture, she said.

However, in Shen Yun, they are able to find that lost beauty and goodness. They are able to see the portrayal of universal values in the performances, and the charm of the genuine Chinese nation.

Shen Yun has done very well and has been very successful in bringing back this glorious culture, Ms. Yu said.

She said she felt especially heartened upon seeing the familiar stories from Chinese mythology performed by the Shen Yun dancers.

These are among the most classic and well-known tales and legends from China, she noted, and their presentation through superb skills in classical Chinese dance, along with Shen Yun’s costumes and music, gives these dance-dramas the ability to convey the stories’ rich cultural meaning.

Ms. Yu particularly enjoyed a dance in the program that paid tribute to the art of tai chi. It is both unique and excellent, she said, as the dancers skillfully used fans to portray the Daoist principles of yin and yang, softness and hardness.

Ms. Yu expressed hope that Shen Yun will be able to visit more countries to perform.

Reporting by Li Jia and Lu Lu

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.

Read the original Chinese article at http://shenyun.epochtimes.com/b5/14/1/12/n4057002.htm