Former Dancer: Shen Yun is the ‘Perfect performance’

CALGARY, Canada—Former professional ballet dancer Margarita Fakbaz felt as though she was in the middle of a “fairy tale” as she watched Shen Yun Performing Arts on stage at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday evening.

“The music, costumes, all those effects … very beautiful pictures … it was really amazing,” said Ms. Fakbaz, who is now a psychologist.

Describing Shen Yun as the “perfect performance,” she noted that “I was just in a fairy tale for two and a half hours.”

Having had training in Russian ballet, Ms. Fakbaz said she could recognize the high level of talent of the Shen Yun dancers.

She also found classical Chinese dance presented by Shen Yun to be intriguing, taking note of the expression of the movements.

“This show, the professional level as well, when you cannot talk and only from your movement you can explain what’s going on, what the story is about, that’s really nice,” she said.

Classical Chinese dance is an art form with a history spanning thousands of years, according to the Shen Yun website.

“Soaking up profound wisdom from every era and dynasty, it has become a complete system of dance embodying traditional aesthetic principles with its unique dance movements, rhythms, and inner meaning,” the Shen Yun website said.

Ms. Fakbaz said she also found the voices of the solo vocalists “beautiful,” and praised how the show interweaves vocal performances in between the dance pieces.

The music accompanying the dances, played by the Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra, combines traditional Chinese instruments with classical western instruments.

“It’s the best combination—the live music,” Ms. Fakbaz said.

“This traditional live classical music combination of Chinese instruments … different sounds, and it’s very nice,” she added.

Ms. Fakbaz said she has already told her son, who lives in Vancouver, not to miss seeing Shen Yun the next time it travels to his city. She said she would also attend the show again each time the show is back in Calgary.

Reporting by Mei Li and Omid Ghoreishi.

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.