SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

‘Phenomenal’: Shen Yun Impresses Audience Members in London

Apr 25, 2019

LONDON—Shen Yun is captivating audiences around the world, with vibrant colours, classical Chinese dance, a live orchestra and an animated backdrop.

Formed in 2006 by a group of Chinese American artists, Shen Yun has a mission of reviving authentic Chinese culture through music and dance. It’s a culture that was almost wiped out in China under communist rule.

“You should never lose history, you should never lose your tradition, right?” said Vincent Vandendael, CEO of international operations at Everest Insurance, after watching Shen Yun perform at London’s Eventim Apollo on April 25.

“It’s lost to China, but at least we have it [here in the UK]. I hope it goes back to China one day,” he said.

He watched the performance with his daughter, Mary, who said she was amazed by the synchronization of the dancers.

“The precision is amazing, they are very in sync,” she said. “You can follow the storytelling just by the dancing.”

‘Perfect Dancing’

Dating back thousands of years, Classical Chinese dance is one of the most expressive art forms in the world.

“The dancing value for me as a dance person—phenomenal!” said Loraine Hastings, a senior examiner for the International Dance Teachers Association and principal of Carlo Rossi school of dance.

“If someone said, ‘Would you recommend it?’ Yes, I would,” she said.

Dance examiners Loraine Hastings and her colleague Tony Wiejski enjoyed Shen Yun at London's Eventim Apollo on April 25, 2019. (Jane Gray/The Epoch Times)

Her colleague, Tony Wiejski, a dance examiner and ballroom dancing trainer, agreed.

“An amazing discipline—that really is the word we’re looking at here because the synchronization of the movement to the music was fabulous. If you looked at the lead dancers, their extensions, their compressions, they were all at exactly the right time—and that’s perfect dancing,” he said.

‘Overwhelmed’

Every Shen Yun performance features a live orchestra, which blends music from the East and West.

Opera singer Lancelot Nomura described it as “a perfect combination.”

“I myself am half Japanese and half English so I know it’s the right combination,” he said.

Opera singer Lancelot Nomura enjoyed Shen Yun at London's Eventim Apollo on April 25, 2019. (NTD Television)

Shen Yun singers are trained to sing in Chinese using the traditional bel canto technique. Nomura was touched by the translation of the lyrics, which are projected on the backdrop, which he described as “very moving, very deep.”

“I was overwhelmed by everything I saw and heard and I thought it was fantastic,” he said.

With reporting by Mary Mann, NTD Television, and Jane Gray.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the company’s inception in 2006.