SYDNEY—Justine Duryea, a former professional ballet dancer, said the technique of the Shen Yun dancers was superb.
She was speaking after Friday night’s performance at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, which she attended with her mother.
“I think they’re very graceful,” Ms. Duryea said. “Very graceful in their movements. Different to Australian ballet technique, but still very, very good. Technically very good. Very beautiful. And the men are very strong, and the women are very graceful.”
Shen Yun draws from 5,000 years of Chinese culture, with its reverence for heaven, and myths and legends describing deities and celestial beings. Its dances use classical Chinese dance and digital backdrops to bring these tales to life in vivid colour.
Ms. Duryea, now a mother of three, said she liked the depiction of beings such as Buddhas and exploration of the meaning of life.
“Nearly every performance has something like that in it, it gives more of an insight into Chinese culture for people that don’t know, it’s good,” she said.
The show also contains dances unique to the culture and flair of various dynasties and ethnic groups throughout China’s history, as well as solo voice and instrumental performances.
The Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company, now in Sydney, is one of three Shen Yun companies now touring the world. Each travels with live orchestras which combine Chinese and Western instruments.
Ms. Duryea said it was a “perfect” and “captivating” mix of Western and Chinese elements, and more Australians should see the show.
“I’d say, go and see it because it’s very different and it’s very exciting,” she said.
Her mother, who declined to give her name, said the choreography was “brilliant.”
“I loved it,” she said. “I really did.”
Reporting by Anne Zhong and Ethan Yang.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world, with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre through May 6.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
