VANCOUVER—Triumph Taekwondo teacher Steven Lovett saw Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Jan 17 and appreciated its depth and authenticity.
“I liked the message. I felt the message of freedom of thought,” Mr. Lovett said. “It’s got a humanistic culture. I really enjoyed it.”
New York-based Shen Yun is a world-renowned classical Chinese dance company whose mission is to revive China’s 5,000-year-old culture, traditionally considered divinely inspired. The essence of this culture was all but destroyed by various destructive communist policies, such as the decade-long Cultural Revolution.
Shen Yun’s website states: “Since the CCP is officially an atheist regime, it is afraid of the freedom of expression this arts company enjoys in the West.”
Mr. Lovett also appreciated the similarities between classical Chinese dance—Shen Yun’s hallmark—and martial arts. “In many ways they are one and the same—the movements and the art form. Different applications, same movements.”
The website explains the relationship between classical Chinese dance and martial arts.
“Chinese martial arts and classical Chinese dance can be thought of as twins conceived 5,000 years ago by the earliest progenitors of Chinese culture,” it reads.
“Although spawned from the same roots, these siblings with vastly contrasting personalities served very different purposes. Whereas Chinese martial arts fulfilled the practical purpose of fighting and defending, classical Chinese dance entertained dignitaries of the imperial court as a performing art.”
Accompanying Mr. Lovett was Elsa Brink, marketing manager of a search engine. Ms. Brink noted how important the live orchestra was to the performance.
“I like that setting, and that sort of feel. It lends authenticity when you have the orchestra there,” she said.
The live orchestra has a unique sound harmonizing classical Eastern and Western instruments, which grabbed Mr. Lovett’s attention.
“The integration of western and eastern cultures was really good”
In addition to her appreciation for the Orchestra Ms. Brink mentioned her fondness for the solo performance with the erhu, a two-stringed classical Chinese instrument.
“Beautiful, beautiful. We were talking about it. It’s something we’ve heard so much about, but I’ve never seen somebody perform live. It’s great. It was a great experience.”
Mr. Lovett also recognized the distinct sound of the erhu. “It made me immediately think of calligraphy and that kind of Oriental tune,” he said.
“I really enjoyed it, a very unique sound.”
Reporting by Ryan Moffatt and J.H. White
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
