He found it beautiful and touching, and changed his notions about music.
“When I heard the music, I simply felt that classical Chinese music is very tuneful and uplifting. Actually, I didn’t like music before,” he said. “I also learned today that erhu (a two-stringed instrument) is a special instrument from China.”
Attending Shen Yun, Mr. Hitomi changed another notion.
“I had a bad impression of China. But I understand that we should share our excellent culture with each other after attending Shen Yun,” he said. “The traditional culture that Shen Yun presents is very profound.”
New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of “China before communism.” For 5,000 years China’s civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The virtues that China’s civilization was built upon are loyalty, propriety, wisdom, justice, and benevolence—values that are universal and shared the world over.
Mr. Hitomi said Shen Yun is eye-catching and inspiring.
“The gorgeous costumes are very beautiful. The male dancers are masculine and valiant, and presented a powerful force. Their dances are majestic. The female dancers are so delicate and graceful,” he said. “I really appreciate Shen Yun for giving me so many nice things.”
“I was deeply enchanted,” he said. “I believe there are lots of people are like me who are fascinated by Shen Yun.”
‘Divine’ Dancing
Mr. Shino Isao, a company president, said all Shen Yun dancers are “super genius,” and Shen Yun is “divine’s dance.”The name “Shen Yun” means the “beauty of divine beings dancing,” and Mr. Shino agreed completely.
“The performance is perfect. It’s beyond all my expectations,” he said after attending Shen Yun in Tokyo on Jan. 25.
“No dancer in the world can dance better than Shen Yun dancers,” he said. “I felt that they are very kind.”
‘I Felt I Was in Heaven’
Mr. Terasawa Tadao, the former president of a real estate company, said that Shen Yun presented a paradise in front of audiences. He felt he was inside heaven for those two and a half hours.“From the lifting of the curtains, it was like I had left this material world,” he said. “I felt I was in heaven, a land from my dreams.”
Mr. Terasawa said the performance was even better than he expected.
Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.
