OTTAWA—Shen Yun Performing Arts left Jean-Marc Lalonde, four-time Member of the Ontario Provincial Parliament, with a deep appreciation for classical Chinese dance after he took in its final show on Boxing Day at the National Arts Centre, just one block away from Parliament Hill.
“It was beautiful—beautiful,” he said, adding he was really glad he came. “I heard about it before, and I read about it. And today I see the real live show.”
Mr. Lalonde rated the Shen Yun performance a “10.”
“The scenery is beautiful. The co-ordination on the stage is great. You could see that they have chosen the best [dancers] from around the world, and also the practice that is required to present a spectacle like this is really something.”
He expects people will be talking about the show and telling their friends how much they enjoyed it.
“I was speaking to someone outside in the lobby and they said it was their second time over—they enjoyed it so much they decided to come back to see it again,” he said.
Mr. Lalonde, who serves as president of the Ontario section of the Association of Francophone Parliamentarians, was glad to see French translation by Shen Yun’s hosts and of the lyrics of the vocal soloists which were projected on a backdrop.
“It’s not too often to you get to see that and this is really appreciated by the Francophone community of Ontario and also Canada.”
He said the entire presentation was very well put together. “You wonder how they were able to achieve what we have been seeing tonight.”
Mr. Lalonde said he was also deeply impressed by the costumes worn by Shen Yun’s dancers.
“They were beautiful! The costumes and the co-ordination—everything is what we call really professional, and it is really beautiful. ... The colour of the costumes adds life to the spectacle.
“I would highly recommend all people come and watch the show. It is really wonderful.”
Mr. Lalonde has served as a parliamentary assistant to four different ministers and serves as Chargé de Mission for the Americas. Prior to running for office in the provincial legislature, Mr. Lalonde was mayor of Rockland for 15 years, and director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for 11 years. In a previous career he ran 104 print shops for the federal government as manager of the Canadian Government Printing Bureau.
An avid hockey fan, Mr. Lalonde has served as a past president of the Ottawa & District Hockey Association, and past director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. He is also a former co-owner of Les Olympiques de Hull hockey team, winners of the 1997 Memorial Cup.
Reporting by NTD Television, Lin Xiaofan, and Matthew Little
Shen Yun Performing Arts will be in Hamilton on Jan. 29 and 30, then Kitchener-Waterloo, Montreal, and Toronto in the following weeks. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
