EDMONTON, Canada—Clayton Anderson, a company owner, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on April 13 and said he loved the performance.
“It’s incredible,” said Mr. Anderson. “I love it. I love the movement. I love the colors. I like the animation with the back screen. It’s really good. ... And the dance, there’s lots of tradition, I’m learning lots. This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this.”
Based in New York, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by leading Chinese artists and quickly became the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Now, with eight equally sized companies that tour the world simultaneously, Shen Yun is on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture and the beauty of China before communism.
Mr. Anderson said he was impressed by “the way everything flowed together and how it was like they were all grouped into one.”
He was surprised by Shen Yun’s patented animated backdrop, he noted, which allows performers to move seamlessly between the stage and background.
Mr. Anderson also said that he was inspired by the performance and that he would definitely recommend Shen Yun to others.
‘Beauty of Life’
Also among the audience was Krista Brunelle, a consultant. Ms. Brunelle said everything about Shen Yun’s production impressed her.“It was wonderful,” she said. “There was beautiful colors and the movement was really really magical. ... You just feel the energy with it, you can feel the passion in the dancers.”
Ms. Brunelle said she felt she was able to learn about traditional Chinese culture through the performance. She enjoyed listening to the erhu, she added.
The erhu is a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument that is part of Shen Yun’s orchestra, which combines traditional Chinese and Western instruments.
According to the company’s website, the name Shen Yun means “the beauty of divine beings dancing.” Ms. Brunelle said “divine” was the very word she would use to describe Shen Yun, because “that was the kind of energy that they’re trying to put across, and I really felt it.”
