CALGARY, Canada—The heart of the West played host to the East on Sunday, as Calgary welcomed Shen Yun Performing Arts to the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on April 8.
Business tycoon and financier Mr. Balm, who was in attendance with his wife, said the couple had been eagerly anticipating the show.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “We really looked forward to seeing this performance.”
Mr. Balm is a philanthropist and veteran business developer and investor with vast international experience. He is chairman and founder of a Calgary firm that has interests in more than 30 companies around the world.
“It’s a really, really nice performance. If it comes back, we would go and watch it again,” said Mr. Balm.
New York-based Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company, with a mission to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
The company travels throughout the world, presenting stories that capture the essence of traditional Chinese culture through classical Chinese dance and ethnic or folk dance.
Mrs. Balm was particularly enthralled with the Shen Yun Orchestra, which blends traditional Chinese instruments and Western instruments together.
“We love the music, it’s beautiful,” she said, adding she adored the solo singing performances in the show as well.
Mr. Balm was delighted by a dance entitled How the Monkey King Came to Be. In this piece, the origin of the Monkey King, a legendary character from classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, is explained through dance.
He was particularly captivated by the animated backdrops featured in the story, which allows performers to interact with digital characters on the screen.
“The interaction with the background and the dancers, was very interesting. I really enjoyed it,” he said. “Really fantastic.”
Mrs. Balm was touched by a dance titled Sleeves of Silk which features long, flowing sleeves that exaggerate every graceful movement of the female dancers.
“Beautiful,” she said.
Reporting by Mei Li and Justina Reichel.
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three equally large companies touring the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company is playing at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary until Monday before continuing on to Edmonton for two shows at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
