OTTAWA—Shen Yun Performing Arts gathered praise from a diverse audience at the National Arts Centre on Wednesday night, earning a standing ovation and curtain call after its third of five shows at the venue.
David Baxter, an Ottawa-based psychologist came Wednesday accompanied by his wife Mary Lou and said he very much enjoyed the colours, costumes and music of Shen Yun.
“The colours were amazing. And I liked how they combined the animation in the background with the dance, so that people would come out of the heavens and appear on the stage.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
Shen Yun, which is based in New York, uses digital projected backdrops to present vivid animations that expand the stage, sometimes into scenes beyond this world.
“It was very spiritual, I found it very spiritual,” added Mrs. Baxter, who practices Taichi and does some meditation.
Shen Yun takes reviving China’s 5,000 year old divinely inspired culture as its founding mission. That culture is largely gone in China proper after 60 years of communist rule, making Shen Yun’s emphasis on traditional Chinese values like filial piety and reverence for the divine distinct among Chinese performing arts companies
Dr. Baxter, who operates his own practice in Ottawa, said he has been reading into Buddism and various Eastern philosophies for many years.
“There is an increasing trend in psychotherapy towards combining mindfulness and meditation and Buddhist philosophies and other Eastern philosophies into psychotherapy,” he said.
Denturist Richard D'Aoust said he was surprised by the colour and costumes in Shen Yun.
“It’s colours that are quite vivid colours. It’s very, very nice. The costume are very nice. The dance, the way they synchronize and everything. ... It must take lots of hours to practice,” he said.
He said he saw how much the dancers put of themselves into the performance.
“It’s made with lots of taste. The people who made this show, I mean, I imagine they took lots of thinking and preparation to do something like that. It’s very incredible.”
Also in attendance that night was Raymond Bourgeois, who works for the government, and his wife, Claudine Savoie, a psychologist.
“It’s very pleasant, I mean the soprano and the baritone, they were quite good and the dancers ... they are very professional,” said Mr. Bourgeois.
He said he was impressed by the movement and colour but appreciated the insight into traditional Chinese culture.
“It’s a very ancient culture and we get that from the scenes from one sequence after the other.”
Mrs. Savoie said she appreciated the two emcees introducing each dance, and having the lyrics to the songs translated on the backdrop. She struggled to describe an ephemeral quality she saw in the show and its compassion.
“I don’t know how to say it—the taste, the beauty, how delicate it is, the colour of the costumes—It helped me to be more calm and believe in people and serenity.”
Computer analyst Martin Raymond said he enjoyed every aspect of the performance.
“It was incredible. Very impressive ... The music, the colours, the synchronization. It is very impressive.”
“It was a very good experience. I recommend it to anybody who is interested and curious about the Chinese culture.”
Reporting by Donna He, Lisa Ou, Crystal Yin and Matthew Little.
Shen Yun has three companies touring the world. The Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will perform at the National Arts Centre on Dec. 19–23. For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.
