VANCOUVER, British Columbia—“It’s fabulous. It’s beautiful The costumes are just fabulous, as are the artists.”
This is how Senator Mobina Jaffer described the Shen Yun Performing Arts show currently playing at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Senator Jaffer, who attended the matinee Saturday, said that while she “loved the drums.” She was especially moved by Heaven Awaits Us Despite Persecution, a dance in which the father of a young girl is persecuted by the communist party for his belief in the traditional meditation practice of Falun Dafa.
The stirring scenes that unfold in this program present a message of hope and denote a longstanding Chinese belief that good people are ultimately rewarded, even if not in this lifetime.
“I was very taken by the story of the family. I was very touched by that,” said the senator.
New York-based Shen Yun is composed of leading Chinese artists who live outside mainland China. Many hail from Canada—something that pleased Senator Jaffer..
“What is really amazing, and it’s something to be very proud of, is that Canadians are participating in this. The countries [the performers] originally come from, to preserve that art, to in fact make it go further, that’s the strength of Canada—to make sure that people are able to express what their heritage is. And this is what we see today—people expressing their heritage.”
She said she thinks classical Chinese dance, the centrepiece of the Shen Yun shows, is “fabulous. I just think, ‘What a treat for people.’ I wish more were here to enjoy it.”
After completing its seven-show run in Vancouver, Shen Yun will continue on to Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina.
For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
