“It was unique. I haven’t seen anything much like that in the past. I very much enjoyed it,” said Ms. Passmore-Godfrey, a puppeteer who has been involved in arts education for more than 20 years.
Ms. Passmore-Godfrey is artistic director for her own professional touring puppet theatre, which involves the production and performance of original multidiscipline puppet shows across Canada and internationally. She is also coordinator for a “creative kids” program with a Calgary institution.
She praised the talent of the Shen Yun performers, who use the ancient art form of classical Chinese dance, which consists of distinctive movements, rhythms and postures as well as tumbling and acrobatic movements similar to martial arts.
“All of it was very talented people doing wonderful things with their bodies. I think the talent of the performers was really remarkable,” she said.
Mr. Fisher, a Calgary businessman and sometimes CEO who has been involved in a number of start-up companies, both public and private, linked to the oil industry, said, “I thought it was an incredible show.”
Mr. Fisher said he was aware that much of China’s “wonderful culture” was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. He praised Shen Yun, a New York-based company composed of leading artists, for reviving the best of ancient Chinese culture and presenting it to audiences around the world.
“I laud Shen Yun for trying to show what the culture was and trying to help resurrect it, and not only just for the West, but I think for their own people back in mainland China,” he said.
He doubted that the show would be allowed to play in China, since it contains two dances depicting the persecution of Falun Gong, a traditional spiritual discipline that was outlawed by the Chinese regime in 1999.
Mr. Hennessy, owner of a company that specializes in technology for the home, also attended Monday night’s show. He had also seen the 2008 production.
“It’s wonderful. It’s everything that I expected. This year I brought my five-year-old granddaughter, and she is just loving it,” he said during the intermission of Sunday night’s show.
“The choreography is wonderful, the music is wonderful, and I particularly like the lady who sang the opera piece. I’ve always enjoyed opera.”
Mr. Hennessy was referring to soprano Min Jiang, who sang “Awareness is Spreading.”
“We’re looking forward to the second half,” he said.
After Calgary, Shen Yun will perform in Edmonton on April 15 and April 16 and in Regina on April 19.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
