‘The singing—we were blown away,’ Says Recording Artist

Accomplished singer Jodie Resther was delighted by the performances at the Shen Yun opening show in Montreal on Jan. 15.
‘The singing—we were blown away,’ Says Recording Artist
Accomplished recording artist Jodie Resther attended the opening show of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Montreal on Jan. 15 at Place des Arts. (The Epoch Times)
1/15/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Resize_of_Singer_Jodie_Resther_0163.jpg" alt="Accomplished recording artist Jodie Resther attended the opening show of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Montreal on Jan. 15 at Place des Arts. (The Epoch Times)" title="Accomplished recording artist Jodie Resther attended the opening show of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Montreal on Jan. 15 at Place des Arts. (The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1823959"/></a>
Accomplished recording artist Jodie Resther attended the opening show of Shen Yun Performing Arts in Montreal on Jan. 15 at Place des Arts. (The Epoch Times)
MONTREAL—Shen Yun Performing Arts played before a full house at its opening show Friday night at Montreal’s prestigious Wilfrid-Pelletier Hall in Place des Arts.

Jodie Resther, an accomplished musician and actress sings in English and French, and incorporates stylistic elements of raga in her singing and song composition. She has worked with renowned Canadian, French, and American producers and launched her first album in 2000 on the Canadian market. Resther was chosen by A&R Worldwide to perform during Musexpo 2006 (United Nations of Music & Media) in Hollywood, Los Angeles, in April that year. She was also one of 24 of the most promising artists around the world selected by “Artists & Repertoire” record label executives.

Despite all of her noteworthy experience, she is a newcomer to Chinese singing and dance.

“The singing—we were blown away,” Ms. Resther said.

“I have never heard traditional Chinese music like that. I felt as though I didn’t want them to stop. I was sitting there and thought that the voices were so beautiful and the melodies were so amazing. It is just like they said, ‘when you leave you feel more energized.’ You really do feel happier. There was so much talent.”

In addition to the singing, Ms. Resther spoke of her delight at other aspects of the Shen Yun show.

“What I loved first of all was that the costumes were so beautiful,” she said.

“It is important, in my opinion, to grab the attention of an audience and bring them into that scene, into that feeling the artists want to convey, and they really accomplished that. I loved that. … So much color, so much great energy—it was beautiful. And the emcees were great and wonderful.”

New York-based Shen Yun is world renowned for its mission to revive the true artistic and cultural traditions of China that flourished before the communist regime came to power.

Through excellence in classical Chinese dance and music, the company of leading artists seeks to depict Chinese history, civilization, and culture while preserving the traditional moral and spiritual devotion of the people of China.

Ms. Resther greatly enjoyed the dance performances.

“The dancing was amazing. I have never seen traditional Chinese dancing. And I think in order to learn about a culture you need to understand about its history and see traditional dancing. The dancers were so strong and conformed to traditional dance. I learned a lot because of that,” she said.

There was a distinct message from the show that made an impression on her.

Ms. Resther summarized her thoughts: “I think [the message] is one of hope because when you are under communism, and you have tradition that you feel have been lost, to see a show like that to me is hope, and I left absolutely with hope.”


With reporting by Donna He.

After the four Montreal presentations from Jan. 15 to 17, Shen Yun will play in Hamilton and Toronto. At the end of January, it will head south to several U.S. cities before returning to Canada to perform in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg.

  For more information, please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org.

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