SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Watching Shen Yun ‘Like Being Invited to Attend an Emperor’s Feast’: Korean Film Director

Feb 16, 2023

SEOUL, South Korea—A Korean film director was excited to attend Shen Yun, which he said: “Shen Yun is so special. Watching it was like being invited to attend an emperor’s feast!”

Mr. Kang Young-man, a film director and executive chairman of the Seoul Webfest, attended Shen Yun at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul on Feb. 15. He said he had never attended a show like Shen Yun, which he said was “fascinating.”

“From the beginning to the end, everything of Shen Yun, includes costumes, backdrop, stage, especially the profound meaning that the dances deliver, oh—everything is wonderful. They perfectly coordinated with each other so tightly. It’s really magnificent,” he said.

New York-based Shen Yun is the world’s top classical Chinese dance company, and has a mission to show the beauty and goodness of “China before communism.” For 5,000 years China’s civilization was built on values and virtues from the spiritual teachings of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

“The dance movements are very touching. With the great music and beautiful 3-D scenes on the backdrop, everything cooperated with each perfectly. It’s majestic!” said Mr. Kang, who added that he was very impressed by the male Tibetan dance.

Mr. Kang appreciated Shen Yun’s tour of South Korea, and his opportunity to attend the performance.

“Shen Yun does a great job, and it has a big impact and meaning for us. It presents the excellent traditional Chinese costumes, music, culture, and history. It’s fantastic,” he said. “It’s very astounding—it’s fabulous!”

‘Actually, It’s Amazing’

Mr. Park Jong-chan is a research fellow at the Hyundai Motor Research Institute. He enjoyed the dances, which he said were very different from his imagination.

“The dances present traditional beauty and elegance but are bright and fast-paced, and have strong power and very difficult techniques,” he said. “This performance is really worth attending.”

Mr. Park was particularly impressed with the male dances.

“The masculine and valiancy that the male dancers presented are so enchanting. I watched them with gusto,” he said.

Mr. Park praised the dynamic backdrop is the most advanced technology. “It’s very interesting. Actually, it’s amazing!”

“The coordination between the backdrop and the stage is magical. It made all dances so vivid,” he said. “I saw the dancers traveled back and forth between the backdrop and the stage, which really made me feel that I was there as well.”

Mr. Park appreciated the stories Shen Yun chose, which included famous stories from history, and the current situations in China.

“China has a very long history. It’s more interesting to present the history by dance,” he said. “[Shen Yun] also dances about what happens in today’s China. It’s great to know these things. I really feel that Shen Yun is very worth to attending.”

Mr. Park Jong-chan, a research fellow at the Hyundai Motor Research Institute, attends Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 15, 2023. (Lee You-jung/The Epoch Times)

Each Shen Yun performance consists of nearly 20 vignettes, presented through highly-expressive art forms such as classical Chinese dance, original orchestral music performed live, soloists who sing in the bel canto tradition, animated digital backdrops, and more.

Truly Important

“Shen Yun’s dances present the highest dance level in the world, but this performance is important not only because of the techniques or arts,” said Mr. Lee Ji-yong, professor of Chinese Studies at Keimyung University. “The performance presents truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.”

Mr. Lee said he saw these three words in a Shen Yun dance and felt that the performance presented these words even before mentioning them directly. He recalled that the first program of Shen Yun showed the scenes that divine beings came to the earth from the heaven.

“I really feel that we are from heaven, and we have good and kind natures. We should not lose these natures,” he said. “We should remember and follow these principles or [truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance]. These are the strong foundation of humanity’s mindset.”

Reporting by Epoch Times Staff in Seoul, South Korea.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.