Musician Loves the Circling Silk Skirts

“It’s wonderful. As a musician it’s always wonderful to see when somebody tours with a full orchestra.”
Musician Loves the Circling Silk Skirts
Ms. Sanderson is a jazz musician. (The Epoch Times)
4/9/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Edinburgh_Wei_Singer.JPG" alt="Ms. Sanderson is a jazz musician. (The Epoch Times)" title="Ms. Sanderson is a jazz musician. (The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1828865"/></a>
Ms. Sanderson is a jazz musician. (The Epoch Times)

EDINBURGH, Scotland—A jazz musician responded joyfully to Dance of the Yi. Ms. Sanderson said, “It was fantastic. It was very vibrant. There was so many things that I had never seen before. I particularly loved the one with the girls with the really really long skirts in the really wide stripes. They were circling and they turned into circles. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.” She attended the one show Shen Yun New York Company gave in Edinburgh on April 8, 2009.

The Yi minority people of Southern China are famous for their love of music and dance. They have a traditional way of dress with long, full skirts, and embroidered head coverings. In the dance, Yi women swirl their brilliantly colored silk skirts to express a playful spirit.

Shen Yun includes dances from the many different cultures that make up China. Tibetans, Mongolians, and the Yi people contribute to the richness of the company’s dance vocabulary. Some of the folk dances have demanding aerial work. Ms. Sanderson said, “I suppose I particularly like it when they get incredibly athletic, when they are doing all the tumbling. That is very passionate. I found that very exciting. I enjoyed the Tibetan dance the most. That was my favourite, yes.”

In Dance of the Snow Capped Mountain, men in Tibetan costume vigorously celebrate the joys of their land. They are welcoming and friendly.

Ms. Sanderson said that as a jazz musician, she felt she had no expertise to evaluate opera. Though the show is not an opera, the performance includes vocal solos by operatically trained soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.

“I enjoyed it very much. I could see that there was a conductor, and it seemed to be a live band,” said Ms. Sanderson.

There are over 30 musicians in the orchestra. Western instruments like the cello, the violin, and the oboe are enriched by Chinese instruments, such as the pipa, the suona, and the gong.

“It’s wonderful. As a musician, it’s always wonderful to see when somebody tours with a full orchestra, as opposed to just a couple of keyboards. It was wonderful. Just absolutely fantastic.”

She enjoyed the experience “very much, very much. There were so many things I had never seen before. I’m really impressed ... There seems to be a lot of ... cultural references. For example, to see a Tibetan dance, it’s not something we see very often any more. I found that very moving.”

Ms. Sanderson understood the legendary or historic Chinese stories in the narrative dances. She was glad to hear the masters of ceremonies give a brief explanation before each dance. “It’s very helpful to have the people come out and talk a little about it beforehand. It’s very easy to follow.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

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