VANCOUVER—The grand production that is Shen Yun Performing Arts opened at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Jan. 16, delighting the audience with its portrayal of ancient China’s traditional culture.
Owner and CEO of NEXT Facility Management Services John Ringness was impressed with the classical Chinese as well as the story-dances that tell tales from the Middle Kingdom’s 5,000-year history.
“I really enjoyed how they’re bringing in the history and they’re teaching us about the history. I enjoyed that, and the art form is just fantastic,” he said during the intermission.
“I love the music in the background. I think that’s excellent as well.”
Mr. Ringness added that he enjoyed the blend of Chinese and western instruments in Shen Yun’s unique orchestra.
“I loved it. We loved the Chinese instruments. It’s fantastic.”
“It blended. It was seamless,” said his wife, Karen.
Shen Yun features mainly classical Chinese dance, but also presents ethnic and folk dances representing China’s many dynasties and regions.
Mrs. Ringness said the dancers were “very fluid. … their synchronization is just impeccable, and just the grace and the fluidity and the strength of all the dancers, male and female, I thought was excellent so far.”
Another standout for them was the digitally animated backdrop, which interacts with the dancers to create the illusion they can enter and leave the background scene, adding context to each story-dance.
“That was amazing, fantastic,” said Mr. Ringness.
“That was very fun,” said his wife. “It was amazing.”
Shen Yun and its mission to revive China’s authentic traditional culture have drawn top talent from around the world; many artists are winners of international competitions in dance, choreography, and music. The New York-based group tours globally each season with an all-new show, playing in 100 cities in 20 countries.
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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.
