SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Showcases Chinese Culture in Melbourne

Mar 28, 2014
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Shen Yun Showcases Chinese Culture in Melbourne
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company's curtain call at Melbourne’s State Theatre, on March 29. (Ming Chen/Epoch Times)

MELBOURNE, Australia—The desire to experience another culture brought Gaetana Karuso and Marchais Brunetti to Shen Yun’s matinee performance on Saturday, March 29.

“I’m Italian and we have our culture and I find it very fascinating to watch and observe other people’s culture because everybody has a story to tell and everybody can teach us something,” said Ms.Gaetana.

Although both Ms. Gaetana and Mr. Marchais have travelled in Asia, neither of them had experienced Chinese culture as they saw it on stage at Melbourne’s State Theatre.

“I was impressed with the whole show, I thought that the theatrical show they performed was exceptionally wonderful to see,” Ms. Gaetana said.

New York based Shen Yun’s mission is to restore the 5000 years of Chinese civilisation, through music and dance.

Mr. Marchais is is a musician and has been playing since he was six, so his particular focus was on the traditional Chinese instruments, and the unique blend of Chinese and Western instruments in the Shen Yun Orchestra.

“China is mysterious to some people so it opens them up to the music side of it, the cultural side of it. I love the mixture of cultures and the traditional Chinese instruments, I find really interesting,” he said.

Shen Yun’s website explains the success of their orchestra as follows: “A Western philharmonic orchestra plays the foundation, while traditional Chinese instruments lead the melodies. The sound produced is uniquely pleasing to the ear. The ensemble at once expresses both the grandeur of a Western orchestra and the distinct sensibilities of China’s 5,000-year-old civilization.”

As well as appreciating the beautiful music, Ms. Gaetana enjoyed the costumes and flowing fabrics, saying she was most impressed by the silk dance, Delicate Beauty of the Han, and the many different shapes that the dancers created with their silk sleeves.

“I’m into clothes in a big way, so I always acknowledge that because I used to have a shop and that was my speciality, so silk fabrics are always something I really love,” she said.

Shen Yun will play two more shows at the Arts Centre Theatre as part of its 2014 Australian tour.

Reported April Sun and Louise Stevanovic

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.

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