MONTREAL, Canada—An uplifting combination of artistry and technical innovation—that’s how award-winning poet, writer and editor Yves Alavo described Shen Yun Performing Acts on Wednesday night at Place des Arts.
“It’s the essence of beauty,” he said.
“It shows us what beauty can bring and how we can live to seek the beautiful, create the beautiful, share the beautiful, that’s what I find.
“It’s a complete performance which carries us and makes us discover beautiful spiritual, human, and physical landscape,” he added.
In a career spanning three decades, Mr. Alavo has worked as a journalist for several international media and as editor-in-chief for several publications in Senegal, France, and Canada, and has written extensively on sociocultural issues, including cultural diversity.
His poetry has won a First prize in 2008, and in 2010, the University of Montreal awarded him with an honorary degree for his professional achievement and exemplary contribution to the advancement of society.
“I’m very, very, very, very impressed because what I’m seeing is an interaction of physical quality, technical mastery and great talents, and also the interaction with multimedia,” said Mr. Alavo of Wednesday night’s performance.
Shen Yun’s vividly animated digital projections help synchronize all aspects of the performance, which includes dancers on stage, a symphony orchestra that includes traditional Chinese instruments leading the melodies, and hundreds of meticulously made original costumes.
Mr. Alavo said the backdrops, which create a window to heavenly and earthly landscapes, were magical and like a dream.
He noted Shen Yun moved him deeply by what the dancers displayed on the stage.
“It’s the power of the mind over the body, how through some exercises and mastery we are able to do spiritual feats and bring our body to a certain level, to a level of mastery and all of this is extraordinary and doable.
“It encourages us to take care of ourselves, it encourages us to be respectful and to develop our abilities, our capabilities, our human spiritual potential.”
His comments reflect one of the most critical elements of Shen Yun’s performance, its founding mission, to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture. Classical Chinese dance, in its traditional form, requires dancers to display an inner quality that goes beyond technical skill. It was an aspect Mr. Alavo said he deeply appreciated.
Reporting by By Mathieu Côté-Desjardins
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s World Company will perform in Montreal until Jan. 9 before going on to Hamilton, Ontario. 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.
