MONTREAL—Last year in Saskatoon, Megan Kent saw a performance she couldn’t forget. This year, she moved East to Montreal where she teaches Egyptian dance together with a friend. “As soon as I knew it was coming to Montreal, I wanted to bring my dance friend to the show. And I told her that it’s really wonderful.”
Megan Kent is talking about Shen Yun Performing Arts, the world’s premier Chinese dance and music company.
The two friends and dance instructors at Dance Egypt Studio came to enjoy the performance at Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts on Saturday night.
Her friend Sarah Kreuger was taken aback.
“It’s one of the most impressive shows that I’ve seen,” she said on Saturday night. The use of the costumes and the props, the sheer amount of dancers that they have on stage at once is really, really impressive.”
Ms. Kreuger, who has been teaching Egyptian dance for the past 8 years, had never seen classical Chinese dance before, but was intrigued by the differences from the other dances she knew, “The hand positions, the feet, and how they walk. It’s really, really cool.”
Classical Chinese dance is one of the most comprehensive dance systems in the world, requiring systematic training in both movements and postures. Although it is also one of the oldest dance systems, the West is still relatively unfamiliar with it—something that Shen Yun aims to change.
Ms. Kent had never seen Chinese dance before last year either, but the show left a deep impression. “The costuming, the movement on stage, the energy ... something that’s different from the mainstream performances that can come through big cities.”
“[This year], I liked it just as much,” she said.
As a dancer, she also knows the hard work and endurance that goes into dance, so she was impressed by the level of energy in Shen Yun.
“There’s a lot of energy which is very impressive for a show that goes for longer than two hours,” she said.
“Lots of energy and a lot of variety with the costumes and the dancing, and yes, the [flips and tumbling moves] are something that just brings you that much closer to the ‘wow’ factor when you’re watching the show, ”she said.
Her friend, Ms. Kreuger was particularly impressed by the integration of the large-scale digital backdrop with the dances. In many of the performances, characters would emerge from the backdrop onto the stage. “It’s impressive how they use that to enter dancers onto the stage. I really, really like that,” she said.
Both friends also appreciated the music accompanying the dance pieces. “The orchestration is very lovely. It goes well with the dancing and I like that there’s traditional Chinese instruments that you can hear throughout the performance as well,” said Ms. Kent.
One of the unique qualities of Shen Yun’s orchestra is its ability to seamlessly blend the musical traditions of the Eastern and Western instruments. The strength of the Western instruments combined with the gentleness of the Eastern, combine harmoniously to produce a beautiful sound bringing out the best of the two traditions.
After tonight, the two friends are set on coming back next year. “For sure! Yes, we'll each bring friends,” said Ms. Kent.
Ms. Kreuger addressed her friends, “It’s a must-see. You have to see it. It’s not something you get introduced to everyday. And it’s so important to see this kind of thing in your life. I’m happy that I came, for sure,” she said. “Definitely, something to do before you die. Absolutely. It’s one of the most amazing shows that you'll see, I think.”
Reporting by Deping Xie and Madalina Hubert.
The Shen Yun International Company will be in Montreal until Jan. 8 and then continue on to Kitchener, Ontario.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
