TORONTO—For the past 10 years, Shen Yun Performing Arts has charmed audiences all over the world with its mission to revive 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture through masterful works of classical Chinese dance and music.
In his greetings to Shen Yun Performing Arts on their 2016 tour, Canada’s governor general David Johnston wrote, “The performing arts challenge us to look deeper, to think more critically, to learn and to grow. Most of all, the performing arts inspire us.”
Audience members at Shen Yun’s performances at Toronto’s Sony Centre felt the company was bringing something special and spiritual, which went beyond the mundane world in which they live.
Paralegal Lavinia Volney-Brown and her nine-year old daughter Zuriel, had a remarkable experience listening to the erhu, a two-stringed ancient instrument with a great range of expression.
“You felt like you actually wanted to cry and shortly after that you felt like you were really happy,” said Ms. Volney-Brown. “We thought that was really interesting with two strings,” she said.
The artistry of the dancers was also something that stood out for her.
“They’re very, very graceful—the way they walk, the way they present themselves, the artistic talent that they have—it was something to look at and enjoy,” she said.
“It awakens you—your heart and soul,” said Barbara Pascua, a case worker who came to see the performance on April 24 with her husband for their anniversary. Ms. Pascua was particularly touched by the music, which combines Eastern and Western instruments to produce a unique musical experience.
Art restoration specialist Silvano Vivoni was also there that afternoon. He was fascinated by the artistry presented on stage, and the spirituality, which it embodied.
“Anything that is so cultural, so amazing, so beautiful, so well-performed, it adds to anybody’s personal knowledge of what life is all about and what it has been,” added Mr. Vivoni who found the spirituality presented in the show very powerful.
“I am spiritual person myself, so all this induces and inspires you towards spirituality.”
In this regard, he believes ancient cultures hold more wisdom than we do today.
“All ancient cultures … were far ahead of us with regards to that, which we cannot comprehend these days,” he said.
For Mr. Vivoni, the experience of watching Shen Yun was priceless.
“You cannot put value to this. It has no price tag, it has no limit because it’s just way beyond what we can possibly understand,” he said.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s International Company is currently touring Eastern Canada. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reaction since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
