LONDON—On Friday, April 13, the second night of the Shen Yun Performing Arts’ 2012 tenure at the London Coliseum, two couples emphasised their enjoyment of the classical Chinese dance, bel canto singing, and full orchestra combining traditional Western and ancient Eastern instruments and techniques.
“I really enjoyed it, I thought it was fantastic,” said Rufus, an IT consultant, who did not give his surname. “My wife is very into dance, classical dance, and we happened to see this and we thought we’d come and watch, and I’ve been knocked out by it.”
“I really enjoy physicality and I just love classical ballet and other such arts, but this was quite spectacular, it really was,” said his wife, Zoe. “It was amazing to see the use of scarves and sleeves to extend the movements, just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. You get lost in the magic.”
Rufus and Zoe have a newborn baby and had come up to London for a special night out. “It’s been a really lovely evening, it’s been wonderful,” Rufus said.
Rufus was impressed with the skill of the dancers and their colourful costumes, which are all handmade and designed especially to complement each dance, according to Shen Yun’s website. “I think the costumes and the colour and the performance and the jumping and the spins, it was all wonderful,” he said.
“The techniques of the dancing, it was just beautiful, it was a real visual and aural spectacular. I really came for my wife … [but] I’m sure I loved it as much as she did.
“I’m sure we’d most definitely come again,” Rufus said.
Zoe agreed, saying, “I’d look forward to our son being old enough to see it. It’s one I’d definitely recommend to friends and family.”
“Absolutely” said Rufus, “We’d definitely tell other people and bring other people next time to come and see it.”
‘It was beautiful’
Mark and Maureen Gates were also at the second performance of New York-based Shen Yun at the London Coliseum. Last year it was the Shen Yun Performing Arts Touring Company that wowed the Coliseum. This year it is the International Company that has drawn full houses.
Maureen found the performance very enjoyable. “Beautiful, the choreography, beautiful costumes, very good!” she said.
She particularly enjoyed all the classical Chinese dance pieces and thought Shen Yun was unique. “It was just beautiful—the athleticism—it was lovely, really enjoyed it very much,” she said.
Mark, an insurance company director, said watching Shen Yun was very enjoyable and uplifting. He particularly enjoyed the action of the dance Martial Arts Training Ground that reveals that “the soldier’s true strength appears when they combine, moving with the might of a mountain”, according to the programme book.
Reporting by Chin Liang, Jingxing Li, and Damian Robin.
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world, with a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company will perform at The London Coliseum until April 15.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
