WELLINGTON, New Zealand—“The male dance was very boisterous and very energetic and the female dance was very graceful and very elegant,” said Prabha Ravi, the creative director and founder of the Natraj School of Dance. It was the Indian classical dance school’s 25th Anniversary.
“It was just stunning and beautiful,” Ms. Ravi said.
Ms. Ravi was attending the evening show of the premier New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts, at the St. James Theatre, on April 15.
Shen Yun is reviving five millennia of authentic Chinese dance and music—as well as a culture that was almost eradicated under communism.
“The classical dances [portray] the tradition of Chinese culture.” she said.
“The stories were amazing. I really, really, loved the way the story was depicted, and the fighting scenes were just amazing, the way the Emperor came … there were emotions, there was storytelling, there was movement, there was energy in there. It was easy to follow and, also, it was just colourful and vibrant,” Ms. Ravi said.Shen Yun’s story-based dances also depict classical Chinese heroes. These stories are based on moral values and ancient virtues that have been passed down the generations.
The opening scene, [‘From Heaven to Save All’], was very impressive said Ms. Ravi.
“Higher beings [were] coming down [from heaven] … it brings that class to the whole [presentation]. It sets the scene for what you are … expecting to see for the rest of the night. The show for me was the storytelling,” she said.
Shen Yun translates into “the beauty of divine beings dancing.”
China’s ancient traditions were based on spiritual values and goodness, and cherished the beauty of artistic creations such as dance, theater and music.
“I think it is definitely hugely beneficial [to see Shen Yun] because it … talks about how karma works and, also, how you need to be grounded and founded to the Lord … That is always humbling when you have superbeings and you know that you are being watched and looked after and it is going to come back to you … all the good things you are going to do – what goes around comes around,” Ms. Ravi said.
“It is quite significant. I am from Indian culture as well. So, we believe in karma and we believe in divinity as well and in supreme beings, so we could see a lot of synergy in the beliefs system, in the faith we have got,” she said.
“Everything was so well done … perfect movements and the singing. It was beautiful,” she said.
“You can see that ancient music coming through in that string instrument … it was just really, really, cool,” she said.
Ms. Ravi was also in praise for Shen Yun’s artistic director.
“High five, absolute high-five. I have been an artist director as well and I know how hard it is to even put … a small show together. Something of this scale is just too enormous and so much amount of planning goes into it. I know the challenges that the artistic director must have gone through to get these artists to understand what he or she is trying to do,” she said.
“I would say the message is that the art form is rich … keep going with the art form and also the overall message of divinity needs to be well understood and very simple,” said Ms. Ravi.
“It is just too good to be missed. That would be my message,” said Ms. Ravi.
