SEOUL—Korean art commentator Mr. Tak Gye-Seok was amazed by Shen Yun Performing Arts after seeing the company perform at the Sangmyung Art Center.
“Shen Yun showcased the dazzling traditional Chinese culture, and combined that with modern art technology,” said Mr. Tak. “This is indeed incredible!”
Mr. Tak won the Outstanding Artist Award and Commentator Award in this year’s Korean Art Commentators Association.
Mr. Tak was excited. Shen Yun “especially used novel multimedia techniques and presented brilliant ethnic dances from different regions,” he said. “It also put historical stories from different dynasties on the same stage. I am amazed.”
Shen Yun, a New York based company, presents the 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture through mini drama dance pieces.
“In less than ten minutes each, Shen Yun dances recount ancient myths, bygone heroes, or celestial paradises,” states the company’s website. “Whether set in the past or in contemporary China, every dance embodies traditional Chinese values. Ideals of loyalty, filial piety, and veneration for the divine are cherished and celebrated. Heroes are extolled for their compassion and tolerance as much as their courage or determination when facing adversity.”
Mr. Tak said the culture presented in the performance showed the positive nature of ancient China.
“I can see that the audiences are very excited,” he said. “This is a wonderful thing. Shen Yun communicates with the audiences through its artistic expression on stage.”
“There are many unique works in the performance and to be able to see them all on a same stage, it’s fantastic! I feel that all works carries the beauty from heaven,” Mr. Tak said. “As I watched the performance, I received a message of peace. I deeply echo with this message and believed that a peaceful mind is a wonderful thing.”
Classical Chinese dance is the heart of a Shen Yun performance, interspersed with ethnic and folk dances. The former dance system is both one of the oldest and hardest to master in the world.
Mr. Tak said he appreciated the overall coordination in the dancing—“superb”—and that the dancers as a whole presented a refined and harmonious arrangement.
“Each and every artist is part of the whole—perfectly well done,” he said. “It’s a supreme form of stage art.”
Accompanying the dancers, a unique orchestra deftly melds classical Western and traditional Chinese instruments.
The combination is used “in in such a flawless way that the timbres all blend together and highlight each other,” said Mr. Tak.
“Shen Yun’s music achievement is way ahead of the Korean national music and Western music.”
