MELBOURNE, Australia—Amid enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation the final curtain came down on Shen Yun Performing Arts 2016 matinee performance in Melbourne on Wednesday Feb. 24. The World Company has been performing in the magnificent State Theatre for five days as part of its world tour. Its mission is to revive the 5,000 year history of Chinese civilisation with its spiritual values of truth and loyalty through the medium of classical Chinese dance.
Michael Coultas, a former economist, diplomat and director of an international trade company was one of the happy theatregoers. Mr. Coultas is now retired and lives in the coastal suburb of Mornington, Victoria.
His experience of Shen Yun was one of admiration for its sheer beauty.
“The costuming, the colour—just wonderful!” he said. “The dancing was really, really beautiful. It gives you of course a very different view.”
The ongoing clashes between good and evil are played out in the mini dramas through the centuries showing how the spiritual values and qualities of determination, courage and inner strength always survive through dynasty after dynasty up to the present day. The “Hope for the Future” dance story tells of goodness prevailing and a new era beginning.
“I have been to China,” said Mr. Coultas. “This [performance] gives you a very different view—of what China might become.”
Mr. Coultas was excited to come to see Shen Yun again as he enjoyed it so much before. However the quality of the dancers still surprised him.
“I thought the sheer athleticism of the dancers was quite amazing. I don’t think many Australians could perform at that level and the whole production was extremely good,” he said.
“The movements from one scene to another flowed, rather beautifully. The storyline also was rather interesting. It was just really, really lovely. Performances are there to be enjoyed and I enjoyed this one so very much.”
Shen Yun’s story dances present excerpts from the myths and legends and famous historical texts through the dynasties up to the present day in song and dance.
Shen Yun Just Perfect
Accompanying Mr. Coultas was his sister in law Jolene Coultas. Ms. Coultas is a ballroom dancer from a dance studio in Brighton and says, “I still do a lot of dancing.” But what she felt the most from the performance was the joy of Shen Yun that radiated through its colour and its excellent precision.
She said, “The costumes were just beautiful and so colourful and stunning. The colour combinations were outstanding. All the long sleeves and the fans and the handkerchiefs that created different effects that looked so good—beautiful.”
From the perspective of a dancer, Ms. Coultas could see the outstanding difference in the type of dancing that the males do and the type of dancing that the females do. The Mongolian ethnic dance the “Drums of the Grasslands” represented the strength and masculinity of Mongolian horsemen with strong feet and arm movements. Whereas in contrast the gentle beauty of women was seen in the Chinese classical dance “Fairies of the Sea” legend with their harmonious movement in tune with their long silk fans and soft blue swirling skirts.
“The colour and beauty, and the uniformity,” Jolene said, “were just perfect.”
Reporting by NTD Television and Philippa Rayment
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four 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 reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
