TORONTO—“I can’t wait till next year,” said Steve Clark, the newest member of Ontario’s provincial legislature, after taking in the opening night of Shen Yun Performing Arts at Sony Centre on Thursday.
“It’s such a wonderful presentation—the costumes and the choreography and the message. It’s a really, really enjoyable evening. I am so pleased to be here.”
Mr. Clark, who is the member of the provincial parliament for the Eastern Ontario constituency of Leeds-Grenville, described Shen Yun as “fabulous.”
He said he hopes others have the chance to see the show before it wraps up on Sunday, so they can witness “a lot of high energy, beautiful costumes, great choreography and just a wonderful story.”
Shen Yun’s productions of classical Chinese dance, music, and song draw their inspiration from China’s 5,000 years of civilization. They highlight values such as compassion, loyalty, kindness, and bravery that lie at the heart of Chinese culture.
“It’s all of the costumes and the message—the narrators are fabulous—and it really gives you a real good sense of the great culture we have,” said Mr. Clark.
“And the fact that this performance can travel all over Canada, all over Ontario . . . I think it’s really uplifting.”
“I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity,” Mr. Clark said. “I feel very blessed that I could see the performance. It was a top-calibre performance.”
Mr. Clark was particularly impressed by Shen Yun’s orchestra, which combines both Western and Chinese instruments, and by the large digital backdrops that accompany the dancers on stage.
“It was amazing how they used the music with the visuals in the back, and I like the traditional Chinese artwork that was on the back yet it had a bit of movement to it. I thought it was very unique and like nothing I’ve seen before.”
