VANCOUVER—Claudia Duffield came away from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Friday with a renewed appreciation for China’s 5,000-year-old culture and history.
Ms. Duffield is the VP of sales and marketing for the Vancouver and Lower Mainland branches of California Closets—an international franchise that specializes in custom-made cabinetry.
She attended the Jan. 25 performance of Shen Yun Performing Arts—the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company—and said the experience was thrilling.
“I absolutely love the show—its such a feast for the eyes and has very entertaining storylines. I love it.”
With Chinese immigrants such a large part of the Canadian diaspora, Shen Yun is an important vehicle to spread awareness of the authentic culture, she said.
“I really welcome these kinds of performances where all the Vancouver residents can enjoy and appreciate and really immerse themselves in [this] culture,” she said.
“It’s wonderful for everybody who’s not as familiar with the Chinese culture.”
New York-based Shen Yun was formed in 2006 by overseas Chinese artists who wised to revive China’s divinely inspired culture—a culture that was largely decimated under decades of repression by the Chinese communist regime.
Ms. Duffield has long held an appreciation for traditional Chinese culture and said she found it fascinating to see it play out on stage through the story-based dances.
“I’ve always known there’s a lot of depth and a lot of history and I’m just so glad to be able to experience more of it,” she said.
Each Shen Yun performance includes about 20 presentations of music and dance. According to the Shen Yun website, each story or song expresses cherished virtues of traditional Chinese culture, and has a message or moral to teach.
Ms. Duffield said the values and traditions in Chinese culture are timeless, and remain relevant in today’s fast-paced world.
“The world is evolving quite fast so it would be nice to continue to progress to a bright future but to retain some of the really deep traditions that are related to our values,” she said.
“I think the Chinese culture brings a lot of really good value traditions to our community in Vancouver.”
She was particularly struck by the expressions of filial piety in Shen Yun.
“Looking after your family, looking after your elders is something that in the Western cultures you don’t see as much. I really really appreciate and value that in Chinese culture,” she said.
Reporting by NTD Television and Justina Wheale
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
