SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘Left With a Feeling of Awe’: Shen Yun Visits Next City on Japan Tour

Jan 21, 2023
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‘Left With a Feeling of Awe’: Shen Yun Visits Next City on Japan Tour
Mr. Kobayashi Yukio, the corporate director of Gunma Environmental Inspection Charity Foundation, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Center in Utsunomiya, Japan, on Jan. 21, 2023. (Annie Gong/The Epoch Times)

UTSUNOMIYA, Japan—Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company kicked off the first of two performances at the Tochigi Prefecture Cultural Center in Utsunomiya, Japan on the evening of Jan. 21. A corporate director was too happy to stop his smile after attending the show.

“I was left with a feeling of awe. I was deeply touched by the super high level that Shen Yun dances reached. It’s very impressive,” said Mr. Kobayashi Yukio, the corporate director of Gunma Environmental Inspection Charity Foundation.

Mr. Kobayashi attended after seeing a trailer of New York-based Shen Yun online, which he said was beautiful.

“Today, I saw the real stage. The colors are much richer than in the commercial. The costumes are more gorgeous. And the dancers are excellent!” he said. “The saturation of colors is several times better than the ones in the commercial. It’s really amazing!”

“The female dancers’ movements are so graceful and elegant. They jumped very high which is very exciting. It’s really entertaining,” he said. “They even danced when wearing the special shoes. It’s really magic. I thought I can’t even walk with those shoes.”

The shoes Mr. Kobayashi mentioned are Qing Dynasty platformed shoes, which have an elevation in the center of the sole.

“I admire the male dancers’ scary jumping abilities. How can they lift their legs so straight and jump so high? Their jumping, spinning, tumbling, … all their movements are amazing!” he said.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, and has in recent years set a new bar for the art form internationally.

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.

Mr. Kobayashi enjoyed the dynamic backdrops and the baritone’s performance.

“I am very happy,” he said. “I’m very glad that I attended Shen Yun in person.”

‘I Felt I Entered a Dream World’

“When the curtain first opened, the beauty of the stage was immediately breathtaking. I felt I entered a dream world,” said Mr. Yamashita Hideaki, former director of Hitachi. “Thank you, Shen Yun! I was cured by you today.”

Mr. Yamashita said he liked every dance. and was surprised by Shen Yun’s backdrops.

“It’s very interesting. The dancers on stage can enter the backdrops freely. They also popped up from the backdrops when needed. This is really a great creation,” he said, referring to Shen Yun’s patented screen technology. “The dancers controlled the timing very accurately. It’s amazing!”

“The live orchestra play the music according to the dancers. This is very sharp—very necessary! I enjoyed both the music and the cooperation,” he said.

He singled out the solo performance featuring the erhu, an ancient Chinese two-stringed instrument, which he found extraordinary.”

“The sound of the erhu swept away all my daily troubles. I won’t be tired of listening to it,” he said. “I used my binoculars to see the virtuoso. Her expressions matched the sound perfectly. She is brilliant.”

Shen Yun has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of the 5,000 years of China’s civilization. Chinese culture was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, virtues like loyalty, propriety, wisdom, justice, and benevolence—values that are universal and shared the world over.

Lives Up to Its Name

“Every movement of the male dancers is valiant, handsome, and masculine. The female dancers are 100 percent delicate. Watching them, my heart calmed down. They are very healing,” said Mr. Utsuno Hiroshi, an obstetrician.

Mr. Utsuno said his wife first heard about Shen Yun and asked him to attend. He didn’t expect the performance to be so majestic.

“No performing arts can compare with Shen Yun. Shen Yun artists’ technique truly is divine. The performance is really worth the name Shen Yun,” he said. The name “Shen Yun” translates as “the beauty of divine beings dancing.”

Mr. Utsuno said that he felt love from Shen Yun, which was inspiring and uplifting. “I want to attend Shen Yun again,” he said, as every year, Shen Yun puts on an all-new production, including new choreography, music, costumes, and backdrop sets.

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Utsunomiya, Japan.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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