VANCOUVER, Canada—With the arrival of Shen Yun Performing Arts at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in downtown Vancouver, many members of the coastal city’s vibrant Chinese community were left in awe after seeing the show on Friday evening.
For Liu Danqing, who moved to Vancouver from Mainland China, it was his third time seeing Shen Yun over the years.
“This is genuine traditional culture,” he said.
“Chinese culture is gradually lost in our present-day society. Today’s China already does not have any traditional culture. So I hope more people in the world could learn about China.”
Mr. Liu was not only touched by the classical Chinese dance, but also the “morality and culture” that the performance presents.
“It is the Chinese etiquette and virtues that can enable more non-Chinese to understand what kind of ethnicity Chinese people truly are.”
New York-based Shen Yun was founded in 2006 with the mission of reviving the authentic traditional Chinese culture, a heritage 5,000 years in the making that has been all but completely destroyed after more than six decades of communist rule in China, according to the Shen Yun website.
The company travels the globe every year with an all-new production of classical Chinese dance and music that retains the deeply spiritual essence of the ancient culture with its values of benevolence, honour, propriety, wisdom, sincerity, and reverence for the divine, notes the company’s website.
Guo Jin, who only recently immigrated to Vancouver from Mainland China, was also highly impressed.
“It was astounding,” he said.
“I have never seen such thing inside China. China only has modern culture today, but no authentic Chinese culture like this. Besides, this program is very good and educational for children. Audience members of all ages would appreciate this.”
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. The Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will continue at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until Feb 5.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
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