KITCHENER-WATERLOO, Canada—A large crowd packed the Centre In The Square theatre where Shen Yun Performing Arts debuted on the evening of Jan. 6.
Among them was Ms. Fisk, president and CEO of a prominent regional business network organization, who had never seen the New York-based Shen Yun perform before.
“I was very excited to see something that was much better than my expectation,” Ms. Fisk said. “I think the costumes and the choreography were remarkable.”
At heart is a celebration and reawakening of 5,000 years of China’s cultural heritage through classical Chinese dance, music, and song featuring award-winning artists.
Story-based dances of ancient legend, folk traditions, and courageous modern-day events brought the audience to their feet at the end, clapping continuously through three curtain calls.
“It sent us a nice message about what Chinese culture is, where the whole concept of Buddha came from—the concept of peace,” Ms. Fisk said.
A couple of sketches exposing a decade of persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice in China today had Ms. Fisk counting her blessings.
“Freedom with choice,” she said. “I think that was a message that most Canadians wouldn’t know, because we enjoy our freedom of choice without ever having to think about it—and just think about some of the persecution that we were shown tonight that we take for granted.”
Having worked in the fashion industry, Ms. Fisk was amazed by the detail of ornately adorned costumes and the textures of different fabrics, from fur to silk.
She also looked closely at some of the colour combinations that are seldom seen, such as pinks and reds, turquoises and blues, and different shades of green.
“Yes, I watched the costumes, I watched the movement of the dancers, I watched the way the music fit.”
And she followed how well everything flowed noticing the musicians interacting harmoniously in each new performance appearing on stage.
“I also watched to see how the backdrop changed. It was an animated backdrop, which initially you thought was a painted set, so it was all so very interesting.”
Ms. Fisk thanked Shen Yun for designing such a programme and sending positive messages to Canadians.
“It’s a tremendous asset to have this kind of cultural awareness and awakening coming into our community.”
She was also impressed by the groundbreaking Eastern and Western fusion of music played by a full orchestra, noting that it was “innovative, simple … it wasn’t overpowering.”
She said the most overpowering element was the gloriously costumed dancers who not only executed amazingly quick costume changes, but also “every time you went to look at the next dance, you would notice there was such remarkable change in the costumes—there was nothing that overlapped.”
These smooth and harmonious transitions were so impressive, she said, that “when you think about it, you didn’t know that the last dance was the last dance.”
With reporting by NTDTV
Shen Yun appears at the Centre in the Square performing arts venue in Kitchener-Waterloo from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8, 2010.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts 2010 World Tour. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org .
Among them was Ms. Fisk, president and CEO of a prominent regional business network organization, who had never seen the New York-based Shen Yun perform before.
“I was very excited to see something that was much better than my expectation,” Ms. Fisk said. “I think the costumes and the choreography were remarkable.”
At heart is a celebration and reawakening of 5,000 years of China’s cultural heritage through classical Chinese dance, music, and song featuring award-winning artists.
Story-based dances of ancient legend, folk traditions, and courageous modern-day events brought the audience to their feet at the end, clapping continuously through three curtain calls.
“It sent us a nice message about what Chinese culture is, where the whole concept of Buddha came from—the concept of peace,” Ms. Fisk said.
A couple of sketches exposing a decade of persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice in China today had Ms. Fisk counting her blessings.
“Freedom with choice,” she said. “I think that was a message that most Canadians wouldn’t know, because we enjoy our freedom of choice without ever having to think about it—and just think about some of the persecution that we were shown tonight that we take for granted.”
Having worked in the fashion industry, Ms. Fisk was amazed by the detail of ornately adorned costumes and the textures of different fabrics, from fur to silk.
She also looked closely at some of the colour combinations that are seldom seen, such as pinks and reds, turquoises and blues, and different shades of green.
“Yes, I watched the costumes, I watched the movement of the dancers, I watched the way the music fit.”
And she followed how well everything flowed noticing the musicians interacting harmoniously in each new performance appearing on stage.
“I also watched to see how the backdrop changed. It was an animated backdrop, which initially you thought was a painted set, so it was all so very interesting.”
Ms. Fisk thanked Shen Yun for designing such a programme and sending positive messages to Canadians.
“It’s a tremendous asset to have this kind of cultural awareness and awakening coming into our community.”
She was also impressed by the groundbreaking Eastern and Western fusion of music played by a full orchestra, noting that it was “innovative, simple … it wasn’t overpowering.”
She said the most overpowering element was the gloriously costumed dancers who not only executed amazingly quick costume changes, but also “every time you went to look at the next dance, you would notice there was such remarkable change in the costumes—there was nothing that overlapped.”
These smooth and harmonious transitions were so impressive, she said, that “when you think about it, you didn’t know that the last dance was the last dance.”
With reporting by NTDTV
Shen Yun appears at the Centre in the Square performing arts venue in Kitchener-Waterloo from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8, 2010.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts 2010 World Tour. For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org .
