SYDNEY—Sydney had been sweltering under the longest heatwave on record, but the Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company were greeted with perfect dance weather when they arrived in Sydney as the cool change hit Sunday night Feb 7.
The New York-based dance and performance group has timed its annual Australian season to coincide with Chinese New Year festivities this year, performing at the Capitol Theatre for the entire month of February, before going on to Melbourne and Canberra.
For those that are unfamiliar with the group, Shen Yun Performing Arts is itself a breath of fresh air, comprising ethnic Chinese performers who offer a unique perspective on China’s traditional culture and 5000-year-old history. Ancient myths and heroic tales, for example, are performed alongside contemporary issues concerning Chinese people today. Refreshingly, China’s many ethnic influences are also acknowledged alongside the uniting forces of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
And traditional dance and musical instruments are performed in combination with Western compositions and digital technology.
Those who are familiar with Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is now on its fifth tour to Australia, will be eagerly waiting for the new 2011 season performances, having experienced the joys of the company’s previous tours. By all accounts, they will not be disappointed.
Internationally renowned New Zealand composer and conductor Gary Daverne, who has seen Shen Yun each year for the last three years, was able to catch the company in New Zealand on its way to Australia.
“I recommend it 100 per cent,” he said after seeing Shen Yun at the ASB Theatre in Auckland on Feb 5.
“This is a real experience. You just don’t see shows like this every day.”
Leading New Zealand pianist Katherine Austin agreed, commenting on the precision of the dancing, the costumes, the “sense of co-operation” and “good messages about being on Earth and what we are here for”.
Ms Austin, who is a lecturer in piano at the University of Waikato’s School of Music, said she had enjoyed the subtle humour in the performances and the range of traditional instruments, saying that Shen Yun was “a delightful show with a great deal of skill”.
Shen Yun has received accolades around the world, not only for the quality of its performances, but also for its courageous content. Many of the performers are practitioners of the exercise and meditation practice Falun Gong, which is persecuted in China today. Accordingly, Shen Yun does not shy away from depicting the truth of modern China with its brutal underbelly of human rights abuse and persecution.
While there have been efforts by Chinese embassies and consulates around the world to prevent politicians, VIP’s and even venues from hosting or attending Shen Yun performances, the company has been warmly received in the East (although not Mainland China–yet) and throughout the West.
In Australia, Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell are just some of the politicians who have sent their warm wishes to the company for its 2011 Australian season.
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will present performances in Sydney, Australia, at the Capitol Theatre from Feb. 8 to 23. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
The New York-based dance and performance group has timed its annual Australian season to coincide with Chinese New Year festivities this year, performing at the Capitol Theatre for the entire month of February, before going on to Melbourne and Canberra.
For those that are unfamiliar with the group, Shen Yun Performing Arts is itself a breath of fresh air, comprising ethnic Chinese performers who offer a unique perspective on China’s traditional culture and 5000-year-old history. Ancient myths and heroic tales, for example, are performed alongside contemporary issues concerning Chinese people today. Refreshingly, China’s many ethnic influences are also acknowledged alongside the uniting forces of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.
And traditional dance and musical instruments are performed in combination with Western compositions and digital technology.
Those who are familiar with Shen Yun Performing Arts, which is now on its fifth tour to Australia, will be eagerly waiting for the new 2011 season performances, having experienced the joys of the company’s previous tours. By all accounts, they will not be disappointed.
Internationally renowned New Zealand composer and conductor Gary Daverne, who has seen Shen Yun each year for the last three years, was able to catch the company in New Zealand on its way to Australia.
“I recommend it 100 per cent,” he said after seeing Shen Yun at the ASB Theatre in Auckland on Feb 5.
“This is a real experience. You just don’t see shows like this every day.”
Leading New Zealand pianist Katherine Austin agreed, commenting on the precision of the dancing, the costumes, the “sense of co-operation” and “good messages about being on Earth and what we are here for”.
Ms Austin, who is a lecturer in piano at the University of Waikato’s School of Music, said she had enjoyed the subtle humour in the performances and the range of traditional instruments, saying that Shen Yun was “a delightful show with a great deal of skill”.
Shen Yun has received accolades around the world, not only for the quality of its performances, but also for its courageous content. Many of the performers are practitioners of the exercise and meditation practice Falun Gong, which is persecuted in China today. Accordingly, Shen Yun does not shy away from depicting the truth of modern China with its brutal underbelly of human rights abuse and persecution.
While there have been efforts by Chinese embassies and consulates around the world to prevent politicians, VIP’s and even venues from hosting or attending Shen Yun performances, the company has been warmly received in the East (although not Mainland China–yet) and throughout the West.
In Australia, Federal Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and NSW Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell are just some of the politicians who have sent their warm wishes to the company for its 2011 Australian season.
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will present performances in Sydney, Australia, at the Capitol Theatre from Feb. 8 to 23. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
