GUNPO, South Korea—“How on earth can the show be so exquisite and beautiful! It has reached the acme of perfection that I feel like soaking in happiness throughout the show this evening,” said South Korean soprano Park Yeongsuk at Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company at Gunpo Culture and Arts Center on April 25.
Ms. Park said that the Shen Yun performers’ dancing techniques are superb, and they are quite different from traditional Korean dances. She said, “The movements of fingertips in classical Korean dance and those of the classical Chinese dance performed by Shen Yun are different. We can tell extraordinary energy from Shen Yun performers’ fingertips.”
“The introduction by masters of ceremony before each piece helps to our further understanding of Chinese culture,” she added.
As a soprano, Ms. Park highly spoke of Shen Yun vocalists’ singing techniques and the connotations of the lyrics. She explained, “The vocalists’ techniques are excellent, and their performances have reached the acme of perfection. The connotations of the lyrics are different from those of Korean songs. They seem to portray something in the world that we could hardly imagine.”
“The lyrics and beautiful dance are so peaceful and spectacular that we can feel an overwhelming and unique atmosphere featuring the long and magnificent Chinese history. The lyrics of the encored song sung by soprano Haolan Geng perfectly reflected our feeling of seeing the show. We are deeply impressed. Both dance and vocal performances are remarkably good,” she said.
The erhu soloist was a rich performance said Ms. Park. “Why is the erhu performance so touching and graceful? I listened to it attentively, and the bottom of my heart was truly touched. It was my first time to listen to the performance of erhu. I was in awe at the rich performance with the musical instrument that has only two strings.”
Park Yeongsuk concluded by saying, “After seeing the Shen Yun show, I feel like being purified spiritually by the animated backdrops, dances and costumes.”
‘I was truly touched by Shen Yun’
The traditional values, like good-versus-evil, are present in the stories told through Shen Yun’s story-dances as well.
“Shen Yun perfectly showcases the essence of traditional oriental culture. Every moment of the performance is very touching,” said Choi Yeonggil, a singer of Korean traditional songs.
“I was truly touched by Shen Yun. This is the first time in my life seeing such spectacular performance. The coordination among dancers was so wonderful that I could hardly imagine how much time and efforts they have devoted to the practice, so as to reach such level,” Mr. Choi said.
According to Shen Yun official Website, one can discover a sea of traditional Chinese culture in Shen Yun performance. Mortals and divine beings merge on stage as one. Principles such as benevolence and justice, propriety and wisdom, respect for the heavens, and divine retribution, all come to life, washing over the audience. Originating from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, these ideals are the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
“It makes me ponder about my next life. The essence of traditional oriental virtues of benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and respect is perfectly portrayed. So, it truly touched the bottom of my heart,” Mr. Choi added.
Choi Yeonggil is a well-known singer for Korean traditional songs, who has won the Ninth Best Korean Young Male Singer Award. He is especially popular among Koreans whose age falls between 40 and 50.
Reporting by Hong Mae and Billy Shyu
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
