OTTAWA, Canada—Paul Albers was highly impressed by all aspects of the Shen Yun Performing Arts show he attended at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Friday evening.
“It was an amazing show. Visually stunning,” he said, while also praising the athleticism and high calibre of the dancers.
“They made it look so easy, but you know if you tried to do one-tenth of what they were doing you would wind up in the hospital. It was just an amazing show.”
Mr. Albers, a technical analyst with IBM Canada, said he had wanted to see Shen Yun for a long time, and finally this year he bought tickets to the show as a Christmas present for his wife, Sherry.
“We’ve never seen it before. I’ve wanted to come for a number of years and it’s just never worked out. And this year it worked out. I bought my wife tickets for Christmas, this is her Christmas present.”
“It was a wonderful surprise,” said Mrs. Albers.
“I’m a full-time student, so to be able to go out on a night like this is maybe once a year, maybe once every few years kind of thing for us. It was a wonderful surprise and I loved all of the numbers. I really enjoyed them.”
“The dance number with the long sleeves and with all the ribbons was so amazingly choreographed, and all the emotions that came across the stage—I’m amazed,” she added.
“I loved the drums in the opening number too. Drums are cool,” said her husband.
Mr. Albers said he also particularly liked Lotuses in Bloom, a piece in which the dancers hold long silken fans and glide across the stage like celestial fairies. In the East, the lotus has long been a symbol of purity and divine perfection.
“That was just beautiful. It was amazing.”
New York-based Shen Yun presents myths, legends, and contemporary tales from China’s 5,000-year history through the medium of classical Chinese dance and ethnic dances, song, and live orchestral music.
Shen Yun’s mission is to bring about a Renaissance of China’s traditional values and culture—a culture that was almost destroyed under decades of destructive communist campaigns, particularly the Cultural Revolution.
Mrs. Albers said she was touched by the depth of the production.
”It was an emotional experience for me to watch, to understand the history and realize you’re seeing so much history, and what’s going on today. … I was really glad I was a part of it.”
Some of the contemporary pieces in the show depict the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline that was launched by the Chinese regime in 1999 and has resulted in the torture and deaths of unknown numbers Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Mr. Albers said he was impressed by how Shen Yun used the performing arts to portray this issue.
“I think that the messages in that area were presented well,” he said. “It was factual and standing in support of freedom,” he added, noting that it was “something very worthwhile.”
Mrs. Albers said she and her daughters had wanted to come to see the show ever since they saw a sales booth at their local shopping mall where some of the women promoting the show were dressed in costumes.
“I was there with my daughters and we were just amazed and oohing and aahing,” she said.
The couple brought all their daughters to the show Friday night.
“We have four daughters. It’s a big deal to bring them all,” Mrs. Albers said.
Andre Cadieux, a former senior administrator for the French language public school board in Ottawa who also attended the Friday night performance, was thrilled by Shen Yun’s lavish production.
“It’s really fascinating. Very well planned, very well delivered,” he said, adding that the dancers were exceptionally talented.
“The dances were top-notch. They’re more than dancers—they’re really full-fledged athletes.”
Reporting by Fu Ming, and Joan Delaney
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s World Company will perform two more shows in Ottawa before continuing on to Montreal. 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.
