VANCOUVER—Shen Yun Performing Arts’ third show of the season at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Saturday evening played to a packed house, the audience revelling in the age-old artistic tradition that once thrived in China.
Through the language of music and dance, Shen Yun presents the essence Chinese traditional culture, its rich repertory drawn from the pages of the Middle Kingdom’s 5,000-year history—something that delighted Andrey Zakrevskiy.
“I am captivated because of the great country [about whose history] we’ve learned—awesome history,” said Mr. Zakrevskiy, the regional sales manager for Western Europe and Russia at IMW Industries, an industrial machinery manufacturer.
“[The performance] is very powerful, yet these dancers are very refined, sensitive, and full of passion.”
The performance features over 20 dance pieces—both classical Chinese dance and ethnic and folk dance—all accompanied by a unique orchestra blending eastern and western instruments. Also included are two vocal soloists who sing in the bel canto style, and an erhu virtuoso.
“We are impressed by this show,” said Mr. Zakrevskiy’s wife, Natalia.
“We are very interested in Chinese culture. We are interested in the unknown—it is like another world.”
Mrs. Zakrevskiy particularly enjoyed “Sleeves of Grace,” in which the dancers deftly and gracefully twirl long silken sleeves known as water sleeves.
“Very smooth dance, I liked it a lot,” she said.
The couple said they also enjoyed the stories told in some of the pieces. Shen Yun calls these story-dances, and they depict legends, heroes, and famous characters from bygone days, such as the renowned General Yue Fei and the Monkey King, a character from the Chinese classic “Journey to the West.”
Reporting by Christina Liao and Joan Delaney
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
