LONDON—Economist Samia Azam was moved by the depth of the Shen Yun performance at London’s Barbican Centre on March 6.
Ms. Azam said she found Shen Yun deeply spiritual and had the feeling of connecting to a divine entity.
“It’s like the spirit soaring. You literally at some point feel that your spirit is leaving your body and that’s how intense the connection can be and it’s a beautiful performance,” Ms. Azam said.
“The spiritual message is actually universal, it’s across ethnic boundaries,” she said.
Shen Yun Performing Arts was formed in 2006 with a mission to revive 5,000 years of the true, divinely inspired cultural heritage of China, according to the Company’s programme book.
Classical Chinese dance, song, and music are used to express ancient traditions, and Ms. Azam said it was fantastic that the connection to the divine can be conveyed through dance.
The Shen Yun performance also includes bel canto songs sung by renowned sopranos and a tenor. Ms. Azam was particularly impressed with the philosophical reflection presented in “As Humans Act, Gods Are Watching” sung by tenor Yuan Qu. She said the song conveyed an understanding about a human being’s purpose and being held accountable for who you are, what you believe in and how you act.
“It was a very, very moving experience to be sitting there and watching it, almost like going into a spiritual retreat, so it was an absolutely amazing performance,” she said.
Ms. Azam said she would need an hour and a half to be able express to her friends her feelings, the depth, the beauty, and most importantly the spiritual heart of Shen Yun.
Reporting by NTD Television and Rosemary Byfield.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will be performing in Barbican Theatre through March 9. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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