CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Ms. Lacey Hazel, a vocalist, percussionist and community organizer from Huntington, W. Va. and musician Mr. Raphael Godfrey of Charleston, W.Va. saw Shen Yun March 12, and Ms. Hazel said, “I’m speechless.”
She said she felt grateful for the artists’ efforts and for entering the world of Shen Yun. “It was a floating world. It was a gift.”
The program book says, “Prepare to enter a magical realm of beauty and purity, a place where the righteous always prevails, and legends come to life.”
Ms. Hazel said, “I just want to thank all the performers for their dedication because through their hard work, they were able to make the performance look effortless and bring us into their realm. It was amazing, fantastic.”
Mr. Godfrey said, “I would agree.” Both are in the band Qiet, and their most recent album is Pet Driftwood. He plays saxophone and drums.
Commenting on the translation of the Chinese text on the digital backdrop, Ms. Hazel said, “It was very nice that the translation was given so that I could follow along and understand what they were singing.”
Uplifting
“What they were singing about was very uplifting, and it spoke to my heart and things that I think about, so it was just wondrous to get to see that. I’m very thankful.”
Using her musician’s ear to listen to the singers, Ms. Hazel said, “I found the songs very intriguing because comparing the speech pattern of the Chinese presenter with the form when it was sung, it was quite different.”
As a singer herself, she appreciated the sopranos and tenor. “I liked that contrast actually, and their voices were incredible.”
The Shen Yun singers use the bel canto technique “to sing Chinese text. This means that the singer must, while continuing to meet the challenges inherent in bel canto technique, retain proper Chinese pronunciation and diction,” according to the Shen Yun website.
Extraordinary Aesthetics
Mr. Godfrey praised the visual effect of the dancers and their costumes. He said, “The combination of the athleticism mixed with the extraordinary aesthetics was very effective, very transporting. Some of the pieces struck me as almost living … paintings with all the colors and streams of the fabrics swirling around. It was very well done,” he said.
Referring to the the Shen Yun Orchestra Mr. Godfrey said, “The music was very well done. I liked the combination of Western instruments with traditional Chinese instruments.”
“I’d like to hear more traditional Chinese instruments in the future.”
“Being a drummer myself, I appreciated the fact that the dancers were playing the drums onstage during the one piece [Tang Imperial Drummers].The music was very good. The orchestra was very together, very with it.”
Shen Yun is unique, Ms. Hazel said, “You must see this show to truly experience it.”
“It’s inspiring to see something like this available to Western audiences,” said Mr. Godfrey.
This show was so inspiring that Mr. Hazel will tell those she knows, “Please come and see this and spread this to your friends. It was just breathtaking.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Heide B. Malhotra
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006
