MONTREAL, Canada—David Scalia and his son founded Samcon, a multi-award winning developer in Montreal that is frequently cited as one of the city’s best developers, winning the Domus Prize for Builder of the Year four times.
Mr. Scalia is retired now, enjoying the finer things in life, like a night at Place des Arts taking in the sights and sounds of Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Mr. Scalia attended the show on Thursday and said during intermission that the “beautiful evening” he was enjoying was a gift from his son.
“We enjoy it very much so far. It’s really spectacular precision, it’s excellent. I tell you not a single mistake, first class,” said Mr. Scalia.
With him was his wife Antonina Scalia, who said she was also enjoying the evening very much.
She complimented the music of Shen Yun’s symphony orchestra, which combines classical Chinese and Western instruments, as well as the cnstumes worn by the dancers.
“The dressing was beautiful,” she said.
Mr. Scalia was impressed by Shen Yun’s vividly animated digital backdrop, a window that extends the stage to landscapes of both earthly and divine realms. Sometimes the action on the backdrop interacts with that on the stage in surprising ways, something Mr. Scalia said he appreciated.
“I believe it’s the something spectacular where they can come from the film in the background and come out and go back to it. So it’s very well, well done for that specific way. And it’s amazing, the colours are fantastic,” he said.
“The scenery is really fantastic. And all the … dancers are first class, I tell you, such a precision that it’s astonishing.”
Shen Yun stages mainly classical Chinese dance, as well as some folk dances from China’s diverse ethnicities. The large-scale dance performances involve a large cast and intricate choreography.
Shen Yun was founded in New York on a mission to revive China’s divinely inspired 5,000 year long civilization. Much of that heritage has been lost in China proper after 60 years of communist rule, most critically the decade long Cultural Revolution that began in the 1960s and violently suppressed and eliminated much of China’s traditional culture.
Mr. Scalia said he would recommend the show “anytime.”
“This is a way to see something spectacular once in a lifetime and know a little bit more about China’s culture.”
“We are very blessed and privileged to have this show in Montreal, Canada,” he said.
With reporting by Fu Ming
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s World Company will perform in Montreal until Jan. 9 before going on to Hamilton. 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.
