VANCOUVER, Canada—Senator Mobina Jaffer, who represents the province of British Columbia in the Senate of Canada, has been coming to see Shen Yun Performing Arts year after year, bringing her young grandson with her.
“He’s been coming since the age of five,” said Ms. Jaffer at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on Jan. 29.
Now in its eleventh season, the renowned Shen Yun tours the globe each year, enchanting audiences worldwide with its presentation of classical Chinese dance and music.
Every time she sees the performance, she enjoys it even more, Ms. Jaffer said, adding, “Today it’s exceptional.”
The Sunday evening show was sold out, giving enthusiastic theatregoers the opportunity to enjoy the visual feast of traditional Chinese culture amid celebrations of the Chinese New Year, which fell on Jan. 28.
Throughout the performance, audience members gasped at the beautiful scenes that unfolded before them as the curtain rose for each piece, and applauded the dancers as they performed the challenging jumps, spins, and leaps that are staples of classical Chinese dance.
What Shen Yun performances depict, and what she saw in the performance, is very important for the world, Ms. Jaffer said.
“In today’s world, we need to understand the challenges people face, especially now, and it’s very important that we know it happens all over, and we have to be there for everybody.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun was formed in 2006 by a group of leading classical Chinese artists who aim to revive China’s millennia-old culture. With the moral and spiritual ideals of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism as its essence, it is a heritage that is believed to be inspired by the divine.
According to the Shen Yun website, “Over its past 60 years of rule, the communist regime has treated traditional Chinese values—centred on the idea of harmony between heaven and earth—as a threat to its existence. And in its systematic campaigns like the Cultural Revolution, it has uprooted traditional beliefs and destroyed ancient treasures, bringing traditional 5,000 years of civilization to the brink of extinction.”
Being based in New York, Shen Yun enjoys artistic freedom to be able to bring these ancient traditions to the stage.
“We need to understand the challenges that are faced by people in China,” said Ms. Jaffer.
“My grandson follows everything that’s happening in the United States at the moment, and China’s far away but I want him to know what happens in China as well.”
Shen Yun will be performing two more shows in Vancouver on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.
Reporting by Xiao Qing
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has five touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
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.
