GEELONG, Australia—Costa Hall in Geelong was abuzz on Friday night, April 3, as Shen Yun Performing Arts had its debut performance in the Victorian coastal city. The modern auditorium sits just off Geelong’s renowned waterfront, and is considered a feat of architecture and engineering. It is named after Mr. Frank Costa, a famous entrepreneur of the city, who also attended the performance.
The comfortably sized concert hall, at 1,500 seats, reverberated to the thundering Shen Yun’s drums. Audience members were enthralled.
Apart from Frank Costa, the show also attracted Mr. Dennis Smith, a producer of musicals, and Mr. John Mitchell, Geelong’s Mayor, among others.
Alongside celebrities, the show was attended by people from all walks of life. Ms. Sismaet, a nanny, said that the male tenor gave her goosebumps. “It was simply an amazing and wonderful performance. Just so beautiful and delicate. I love it.”
Mr. and Mrs. Minahan, local Geelong residents, also attended the show. Mr. Minahan said the show was “Wonderful. Beautiful. Absolutely superb, absolutely superb. Ah, the delicacy of it all, the women were like magnificent fairies, and they are so agile and the men were so peaceful, just beautiful. The women floated of the stage, stunning, it really was.”
Mr. Minahan said Shen Yun exceeded his expectations. “In one sense, the innocence of it all, but also, I suppose, the wisdom of it all. It’s quite profound when you think about the philosophy behind it, it’s quite timeless.”
He took Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride as an example: “The prophet predicting the earth tremor, and just the whole way it was put together. There was almost [an] innocence and honesty about it. You know in the West, we put a cynical spin on everything, [but Shen Yun] is so pure, there are no tricks, there are no little tricks anywhere.” He said that the philosophy of the Chinese is sensible and brilliant.
Dr. and Mrs. Gault, Geelong residents, also came to the performance. Dr. Gault is a retired general practitioner, and Mrs. Gault is also retired. “First of all, we’re very impressed by the professionalism of these performers,” she said.
Mrs. Gault said the choreography was precise and the timing brilliant. “Everything is put together very, very well, and their timing is superb. It’s a very professional performance. Also, I think the production is excellent with the backdrops. The backdrops are brilliant, and the way they’re using technical projection is really good,” she said.
For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
