Mayor: ‘The whole production was absolutely fabulous’

Annette Clews, mayor of Sundre, Alberta, enjoyed the elegance and high calibre of the Shen Yun production in Calgary on Sunday night.
Mayor: ‘The whole production was absolutely fabulous’
Annette Clews, Mayor of Sundre, took in Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday night. (Maple Lynn/The Epoch Times)
3/28/2011
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/annette+clew-cropped.jpg" alt="Annette Clews, Mayor of Sundre, took in Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday night. (Maple Lynn/The Epoch Times)" title="Annette Clews, Mayor of Sundre, took in Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday night. (Maple Lynn/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1806297"/></a>
Annette Clews, Mayor of Sundre, took in Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday night. (Maple Lynn/The Epoch Times)
CALGARY, Canada—Cultural expression was just one of the many aspects Annette Clews, mayor of Sundre, Alberta, enjoyed about the Shen Yun Performing Arts show she attended at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on Sunday night.

“I just loved it,” she said after the show. “The whole production was absolutely fabulous. The costumes were breathtaking. I really enjoyed all the cultural expression that came through in the dances.”

It was Mayor Clews’ first time seeing the show. She was highly impressed by the elegance of classical Chinese dance and the high calibre of the dancers.

“I couldn’t believe the wonders, the gracefulness of all the ancient dancing, it was beautiful. The sheer dedication of the dancers having to carry out that kind of performance for two hours—it is just phenomenal,” said Mayor Clews, who came to the show with her husband, Ross Clews.

Mr. Clews, president of the Sundre Fish & Game Association, also had high praise for the show.

“I really enjoyed it. The costumes, the talent of the performers was fabulous. One of my favourite parts was where the ladies were doing the cherry blossom dance—it was very good,” he said, referring to a piece called “Plum Blossoms.”

“Just with the movement and colour and the coordination—it was very good. The choreography was very impressive. … From the music selections right through to the performers dancing and the costumes—they work very, very well. Well done,” Mr. Clews added.

“I loved the dancing, I actually was a highland dancer, so I really enjoy cultural dance,” noted Mayor Clews.

“I really enjoyed the beginning with the vertical drums,” she added. “I actually wanted to get up and dance with them, it was very rhythmic and very enticing.”

Mayor Clews was also delighted with Shen Yun’s unique East-meets-West orchestra.

“It’s very cultural. Very rich and very diverse. I really enjoyed the mixture of classical Chinese instruments and the Western instruments—it really brought it to life.”

She described the handmade, colourful costumes as “absolutely breathtaking,” and was impressed with the innovative animated backdrops as well.

“The background with all the special effects was absolutely wonderful. I thought it was very neat how they would bring it up to the forefront and then it would come up from behind—really interesting.”

Composed of artists in the Chinese diaspora, New York-based Shen Yun draws on the Middle Kingdom’s fascinating 5,000-year history for its nearly 20 dances and songs.

“The storytelling, that is the whole thing about the arts and the culture—you can mix it together and you can express so much through your performance, through the dance,” said Mayor Clews.

“You learn so much about the rich culture that comes from China’s history and through the Chinese dances—just absolutely amazing.”

Reporting by NTD Television, Maple Lynn, and Joan Delaney.

Shen Yun will play two more shows in Calgary and then continue on to Vancouver for the last of its Canadian shows this season. Shen Yun’s two other equally large companies are currently touring in Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

 
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