TAIPEI, Taiwan—Internationally-acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts performed at the Dr. Sun Yat-sun Memorial Hall on March 23, attracting celebrities from the arts community. After enjoying the performance, violinist Kengming Tsai, a faculty member of the National Taiwan University of Arts, highly praised Shen Yun, saying, “Shen Yun is full of artistic value.”
A New York-based performance company, Shen Yun is dedicated to restoring and reviving traditional Chinese culture, according to the company’s website. Using classical Chinese dance, original scores combining Western and Chinese classical instruments, and heart felt songs, Shen Yun takes the audience on a journey through China’s 5,000-year-old culture.
Mr. Tsai said all the programs were wonderful and unique. As a musician, he took note of the coordination of the music and the dance in each program. He said, “The music and the dance were harmonized very delicately, and the dance movements were perfectly matched with the climax of the music.”
Similar to music having emotions, he said, the dance also has emotions in the movements, which can be interpreted with different musical notes.
“Some simple actions, such as hitting, were accompanied by percussion music. When jumping, the string music played to represent jumping. For example, in the program Martial Arts Training Ground, the brass and trumpets were frequently used to show the different styles [of movements]. I think that they [the interpretation of movements with music] were very good and richly presented,” he said.
Mr. Tsai said that the value of art is to attract and move the audience. “Shen Yun has beautiful things, including the beauty of music and dance, which can attract the audience. By integrating the art of music with that of dance, Wow!, it was really very beautiful, which captivated the audience and made them want more,” he said.
Mr. Tsai was deeply moved by the rich themes presented from China’s long history. “There were some stories, some folk dances, such as the [Taiwanese] Amei and the Qiang dances, Lady Mu Guiying, Journey to the West, and some literary culture. Actually its themes were very rich.”
He marveled at the erhu solo performance by Xiaochun Qi, exclaiming, “Wow! There are so many talented artists in the orchestra. The erhu was played amazingly. From the melody I could sense the effort exerted by the player. It’s really very touching. I wondered how she could simultaneously coordinate her skills of left and right hands so well to achieve such perfection. I eagerly look forward to her next performance.”
Mr. Tsai also commented on the performance by tenor Hong Ming, whose vibrato and singing skills were very natural, he said. “The way I judge a vocalist is whether his skills or voice can touch my heart. As a musician, I thought ‘Wow!’ how can his timbre be so beautiful and how can he sing the lyrics so coherently? I always pay attention to this perspective. In fact, I watched Shen Yun based on the viewpoint of artistic skills.”
Kengming Tsai graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, Austria. He was the concertmaster in the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra when he studied in Taiwan Normal University. Currently he serves as the concertmaster of the Taiwan Pro Arte Orchestra, and is a faculty member of the National Taiwan University of Arts.
Reporting by Xiujing Lin & Joseph Wu
Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, tours the world on a mission to revive traditional Chinese culture. Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company will perform in seven cities in Taiwan until April 8 and then continue to top venues in Australia and New Zealand.
For more information visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
Read the original Chinese article
