MISSISSAUGA, Canada—Professionals of all stripes were at the Living Arts Centre on Friday night to take in world-renowned classical Chinese music and dance.
Dr. Adam Ninos, a hematopathologist who practices at Trillium Health Centre, was at the Jan. 17 sold-out show of Shen Yun Performing Arts and found a refreshing and unique experience.
“It’s very different. It’s nice to see. I’m happy to see that here in Mississauga, in this beautiful theatre we have here,” he said.
“The skill and the synchronization of the dancers, and the costumes, were very beautiful.”
New York-based Shen Yun has four touring groups that perform around the world simultaneously. Shen Yun’s World Company is currently touring across Canada, with its mission to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture.
Business owners George and Halyna Strohyj were also in attendance at the performance and gave glowing reviews.
“It was beautiful—very, very, very beautiful,” said Mr. Strohyj, a chartered accountant who has his own business. “It was great.”
“It’s very moving,” added Mrs. Strohyj, who owns a poultry business.
She was struck by a dance titled Lotuses in Bloom, in which heavenly maidens glide across the stage with long, silken fans. In Eastern culture the lotus has long been a symbol of purity and divine perfection, according to the Shen Yun program book.
“Beautiful dance, gorgeous,” Mrs. Strohyj said, adding that the female dancers were stunning.
“They’re all young and they’re all flexible ... they are beautiful.”
“The dancers were spectacular,” added Mr. Strohyj.
He was enamoured with the technology of the digital backdrops, which are designed to interact with the dancers on stage, making it appear that the performers can jump in and out of the screens.
“I like the interactive, when they go onto the screen—that was very good,” he said.
Mr. and Mrs. Strohyj were accompanied by one of their daughters, Anastasia, who gave warm praise to the performers as well.
“It was absolutely phenomenal. The dancers were absolutely perfect. Nobody was out of line. Absolutely stunning,” she said.
Husband-and-wife real estate brokers Peter Papousek and Kathryn Stewart were also among the enthusiastic audience. They were awed by the backdrops and colour bursts on stage.
“It’s amazing,” said Mr. Papousek. “I like the dancing, choreography, the colours and the way they all go together, and the background. It’s really vivid.”
“It’s fantastic,” Ms. Stewart added. “I love the choreography, I love the background, the way that they jump into the screen. I think that’s really cool.”
The couple received tickets to the show as a gift from a colleague who highly recommended Shen Yun.
“She had seen it a few years ago and she said she loved it,” said Ms. Stewart. “She told us we’d love it, and she’s right.”
“It’s beautiful, I never saw something like this before,” Mr. Papousek said. “This is very nice.”
Reporting by Teng Dongu, Quincy Yu, and Justina Wheale
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s World Company will give four sold-out performances in Mississauga before heading to Toronto on Jan. 23. 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.
