LOS ANGELES—This Saturday evening, New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts illuminated the halls of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, where theatergoers experienced the majesty of China’s 5,000-year-old heritage, through classical Chinese dance, music, and legend.
Among those in the audience at the sold-out show was Mrs. Dianne Kartiala, president of the Rotary Club of Granada Hills. She works for two Los Angeles councilmen, Hal Bernson and Greg Smith. This evening she attended the performance with Mr. Tapio Kartiala, an aerospace engineer for Lockheed Martin.
“It was beautiful. We didn’t know what to expect. The precision of the dancers, the beautiful costumes, like all the fans all snapping at the same time—they’re very good dancers,” said Mrs. Kartiala.
“And the music was beautiful. I like that they translated the words of the songs because it meant more to me, knowing what he or she was saying,” Mrs. Kartiala commented. Translations in English appear on the screen behind the Chinese vocalists.
The message that Mrs. Kartiala took away from the soloists’ music was, “Keep on hanging in there. I liked the second-to-last song, Your Home is in Heaven. Just persevere.”
“Life in China and everywhere, it’s the same message: good will prevail over evil. It will,” she said. “Good triumphs over evil, you just have to wait and work at it, and stick to it. That’s what I got out of it,” she said of the show overall.
“Incredible voices, all of them,” said Mr. Kartiala of the tenors, sopranos, and other award-winning vocalists who performed piano-accompanied solos.
Mr. Kartiala offered his impressions of the show saying, “The colors were just fantastic. The dancers were amazing, the precision was so impressive. So few dancers, yet so many dances, and they have to remember everything. Truly incredible.”
“The information about the culture and the situation in China now that you can’t see this performance there was almost heartbreaking,” he expressed about the Chinese regime’s repression of authentic traditional culture in China. Shen Yun is not allowed to be performed in mainland China.
Mr. Kartiala observed, “Just like many other countries, they have a unique culture of their own, and it’s beautiful. The colors, the choreography of the dances that showed all of the emotions—just incredible. Fantastic!”
Mrs. Kartiala also commented on the ethnic dances saying, “The folk dancing part was very good, too. It was interesting, the Tibet part.”
Some of the pieces in Shen Yun feature dances from some of China’s many ethnic groups, capturing their unique characteristics and style.
Mrs. Kartiala noted of Xiaochun Qi, who played the erhu, a two-stringed bowed Chinese instrument, “The sound was beautiful, just beautiful. I had my binoculars out watching her hands.”
“We are going to let more of our friends know about it when we go back. We enjoyed it and are very happy, and next time we'll invite more friends!” Mrs. Kartiala concluded.
Mr. Kartiala agreed, “Wonderful, wonderful show, tremendous.” He said his only regret was not bringing more friends with him.
Reporting by NTD Television and Derek Padula
Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will next perform in San Diego Jan 19-22.
For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3WTKCEA4tE[/video]
