OTTAWA, Canada—Attending Shen Yun Performing Arts was a bittersweet celebration for Deeann Marcoux, who felt the show helped to honour her late mother.
Ms. Marcoux’s mother passed away over the holidays and she said the ethereal beauty and spirituality expressed in Shen Yun comforted her in mourning.
“I love how the show really stirred my emotions, really touched home, and had a happy ending that my daughter and I were able to experience together,” said Ms. Marcoux, who attended the matinee show with her daughter at the National Arts Centre on Jan. 4.
“I really feel that my mother is in heaven and that [performance] was a perfect reflection of what I experienced in the last few days.”
New York-based Shen Yun is a classical Chinese dance and music company, which aims to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture.
Shen Yun translates to “the beauty of divine beings dancing,” according to their website, and is inspired by divine principles that make up the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture.
Ms. Marcoux, an entrepreneur who owns several private healthcare clinics in Ottawa and Toronto, was awed by the diversity and depth imbued in the traditional culture.
“I am very surprised by the humour, the emotions, the music, the higher power, the universal power that is communicated through the [show],” she said. “I am overwhelmed by it and very impressed.”
She was also captivated by the animated backdrops featured in the performance. The high-tech projections complement and synchronize all aspects of Shen Yun’s story-based dances, coordinating with the dancers and orchestra.
“I have never seen that before in any capacity—how the images, the art, the dancers, the performers seems to come right off the screen,” Ms. Marcoux said, adding she wished her other children could have seen the show.
“Even my youngest son of nine years old would have loved that, he would be fascinated by it.”
Reflecting on the performance, Ms. Marcoux summarized Shen Yun in three words: “Exciting, passionate and spiritual.”
Her daughter, Darla Watson, a former model and now an interior designer, said she enjoyed the spiritual and cultural elements of the performance.
“It’s very passionate. I love the culture, the spirituality. It’s just very interesting to watch. And the humor as well, it’s funny.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Justina Wheale
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org. Shen Yun’s World Company finished in Ottawa on Saturday and will now go on to perform in Montreal.
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.
