SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

The Gold Coast Welcomes Shen Yun

Apr 22, 2014
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 The Gold Coast Welcomes Shen Yun
Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company arrives in Brisbane en route to the Gold Coast for performances at the Arts Theatre, The Arts Centre Gold Coast, on April 22, 2014. (Linda Smith/Epoch Times)

BRISBANE, Australia—Blue skies and warm autumn weather greeted the Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company when they arrived at Brisbane airport on Tuesday, April 22, as the company continued the Australian leg of their world tour.

Excitement grows south of Brisbane where The Arts Centre Gold Coast will host five Shen Yun performances this week at the Arts Theatre. The Arts Centre complex is in a popular tourist area surrounded by surf and sand, and bordered by a lush hinterland.

Audiences are in for an experience of a lifetime as the New York-based company revives 5,000 years of Chinese civilization through the performing arts. “A Shen Yun performance features the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West, and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance,” explains Shen Yun’s website.

Senator Mark Furner sent greetings to welcome Shen Yun Performing Arts to Queensland saying, “I wish to extend a very warm welcome to the Shen Yun Performing Arts for the Australian stage of their World Tour.

“As a Senator for the Australian Parliament I was fortunate to have the opportunity of attending the Shen Yun performances in 2013 and 2009 in Brisbane, Australia. I was inspired by the beauty and the messages that Shen Yun brought to their performances and enjoyed the experience greatly. I hope Australians of all backgrounds have the opportunity to experience this rich and compelling performance of classical Chinese dance.”

Queensland’s Premier Campbell Newman’s sent greetings to Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company. His welcome message said, “The arts has a vital role to play, not only in entertaining us, but bringing people together. For the last seven years in Australia, the dancers and musicians have provided a colourful spectacle and helped build cultural bridges between East and West.”

Rachael Yuning Bastick, principal dancer and soprano, born in Sydney, Australia, was interviewed when the dance company arrived in New Zealand earlier this month.

Ms. Bastick shared her passion for performing for Shen Yun.

She said, “Shen Yun brings people traditional Chinese dancing that are pure compassion and pure beauty. Our goal is to show traditional Chinese culture. This is not only for the Chinese, many people from different countries can understand it and love it. We express all these with traditional dancing, combined with live orchestra, which are very welcomed.”

After attending Shen Yun Performing Arts’ Adelaide performance on April 19 at the Adelaide Festival Theatre, jazz singer Bec Watt spoke about soprano Min Jiang.

“She was just such a powerful singer, incredible, what she brought,” Ms. Watt said of Min Jiang, whom the enthused crowd cheered to an encore performance.

In Sydney, David Shoebridge, a member of New South Wales Parliament, said raising awareness of traditional Chinese culture is an important aspect of understanding modern China.

“It was a lovely show,” he said, after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Sydney Theatre on April 16.

“It is important for people to really understand just how rich Chinese culture is, particularly through their art forms,” he said, adding that for many people, Shen Yun will be their first exposure to traditional Chinese arts.

Shen Yun Performing Arts on the Gold Coast, Queensland, has performances April 24 - 27 at the Arts Theatre.

From the Gold Coast, the Shen Yun International Company travels onto Perth, with performances May 1 - 4 at the Regal Theatre.

Shen Yun then farewells Oceania and returns to the United States via Honolulu.

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.