MONTREAL—It was the first time for Jacques Théorêt to see classical Chinese dance on Saturday, Jan. 10, when he attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Place des Arts in Montreal.

The performance was impressive and sparked in him a renewed interested in classical forms of dancing, said Mr. Théorêt, an actuary who is an executive with global consulting firm Mercer.

“It’s spectacular, from my point of view,” he said. “It’s interesting to see that there are different [dance styles] in different countries.”

Mr. Théorêt has been with Mercer for 35 years, serving in various positions including Mercer’s Canada/Latin America region leader, and Chairman and CEO of Mercer in Canada. Headquartered in New York, Mercer operatees in more than 130 countries and is one of the largest consulting firms in the world.

Mr. Théorêt was drawn to the movements of classical Chinese dance, which have been influenced by countless eras and dynasties, according to the Shen Yun website.

“I do find the movement very fluid, very interesting,” he said, adding that the dancers were very talented.

New York-based Shen Yun is a world-renowned classical Chinese dance company whose mission is to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture. The performance features over 20 dance pieces—both story-based dance and ethnic and folk dance—all accompanied by a unique orchestra blending Eastern and Western instruments.

Mr. Théorêt said the orchestra, led by traditional Chinese instruments playing the melodies, boosted his spirits.

“The music is good too, so I feel good,” he said, noting that the music was different from anything he had heard in the past.

Another unique element of Shen Yun is its use of digitally animated backdrops, which are timed perfectly with the dancers to create the illusion they can jump in and out of the screen. Projecting scenes and landscapes from ancient China’s multifaceted regions, they add context to each dance story, says the Shen Yun website.

Mr. Théorêt enjoyed the background’s effect, saying it had a great impact on the performance.

“The background is very interesting,” he said. “It adds colours, it adds interest.”

Mr. Théorêt said he was very happy with his decision to attend Shen Yun, and would take home good memories from the experience.

Reporting by Dongyu Teng and Justina Wheale

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

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