GOLD COAST, Australia–“I thought the show was terrific, absolutely tremendous,” said Dr. Alex Douglas, State Member of Parliament at the opening of Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Arts Theatre, The Arts Centre Gold Coast on April 24.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “I thought it was an amazing spectacle.”

Shen Yun is based in upstate New York and has classical Chinese dance at its heart.

The website explains, “Every costume in a Shen Yun performance is presented with brilliant colors, displaying a splendid spectacle—from the Tang Dynasty’s “Raiment of Rainbows and Feathers” to imperial dragon robes, phoenix coronets, and cloud capes.”

Mr. Douglas was taken with the ability of the dancers to enhance the visual display through the costumes.

“I don’t know if they were ribbons, you could call them ribbons, I mean there were a variety of them, particularly the fellow who did the dance with the two ribbons at once, I thought that was unbelievable, I’d never quite seen anything like it,” he said.

“I thought the colours were amazing, and the music.”

An orchestra of traditional Chinese and classical Western instruments playing original scores along with solo singing performances add to the appeal of Shen Yun.

“I did like the singing, particularly the lady who was the soloist, that was impressive,” he said.

“I’ve got to admit you could virtually hear it at the back row, but I was in the front row.”

Mr. Douglas felt performing arts is “very much an integral part of people’s lives. … and they just love it … and it makes a lot of people happy.”

He felt the synchronicity of the dancers with the music was “pretty impressive.”

Mr. Douglas said he would recommend Shen Yun to everyone.

“You’re going to see something that’s totally different, it’s a mixture of dancing and colour and music that’s somewhat different, singing.

“I think if you want to see a good show, and you want to see something that’s not exactly like everything else, then come along. It’s fantastically well packaged, you'd have to say in terms of production they’re absolutely spot on.”

He said watching Shen Yun would “make a lot of people happy.”

Mr. Douglas was born in Brisbane, studied to become a medical doctor before pursuing a career in politics. He is currently the Leader of the Palmer United Party and serving on the Health and Community Services Committee.

Reporting by NTD Television and Leigh Smith

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit Shen Yun Performing Arts.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006