OTTAWA, Canada—Canadian lawmakers, from federal to municipal levels, marvelled at the beauty and divinity inherent in Shen Yun’s performance at the National Arts Centre on April 15, and expressed appreciation for its efforts to preserve traditional Chinese culture.
“It was beautiful and just so awesome. The costumes and the colours and the culture—really nice,” she said. “There are so many good stories. There was a magical fish, and there was the restaurant, and all the different acts. I think it’s very clever how they put all of those things together.”
“What really spoke to me was, I did not know about the history of thinking that we came from the Divine, and seeing that the people were going back there. It was very interesting,” she said.
“I think it’s great to see a performance that is honouring God.”
Since its establishment in New York in 2006, Shen Yun Performing Arts has been touring internationally each year with the mission of reviving authentic Chinese culture and its rich artistic forms. Ms. Gladu applauded Shen Yun’s cultural renaissance efforts and noted its global recognition, citing its expansion from one to eight equally large companies that is touring worldwide.
“The fact that it’s grown to eight [companies] that are going across the world shows the appetite for people to learn about it, to enjoy it. It’s just a wonderful arts performance.”
The Conservatives’ shadow minister for civil liberties singled out the dance stories depicting the spiritual practice Falun Dafa in China. Despite facing brutal persecution by the Chinese communist regime, Falun Dafa practitioners exemplify resilience, responding with kindness and peace.
“People today are very stressed, with lots of mental health issues. A little more meditation, a little more kindness to one another—all of these good things, I think, will help take us to a better place,” Ms. Gladu said.
Thousands of Years of History ‘Saved From Disappearing’
Liberal MP Churence Rogers and his Conservative colleague Dan Muys both appreciated Shen Yun’s efforts to preserve and revive authentic Chinese culture and its 5,000-year history.“It is truly important that we all like to preserve the tradition that we are associated with. And certainly this group is portraying the traditional parts of China and stories about Chinese culture and historic events,” Mr. Rogers said after seeing the April 15 show.
“They’re incredibly skilled and energetic,” he said of the performers. “It’s inspirational because it’s so bright and cheery, and they’re full of energy. It’s good to see.”
“Obviously, the contemporary story of Falun Dafa, and the persecution that’s going on in China, juxtapose with the classical dance and the thousands of years of history,” he said. “And so a greater understanding of the teachings that have carried on for thousands of years, and that are unfortunately now being suppressed in China.”
“Hopefully, there'll be a day in the future, without the Chinese Communist Party, when that is allowed to continue to flourish. Because there are thousands of years of this history that we want to see, that we’re fortunate to see here in North America, but unfortunately not in China,” he said.
“It’s encouraging to see that this art form, again, with thousands of years of history, has not only been saved from disappearing, but has flourished actually,” he added.
“And [it’s] interesting to hear the story of the company being based in New York and now growing to eight companies. And that really is a testament to the strong response from audiences.”
Talking about Shen Yun’s tour, he said he also saw the show when it played in Toronto.
“I know it’s been in Calgary and Vancouver and Hamilton—my home city—and Montreal and other places across the country. And so that’s encouraging to see, obviously. There’s a strong response, and to see that growth over 17 years is impressive.”
“Shen Yun is doing a fantastic job of keeping Chinese history alive,” he said.
Mr. MacLaren noted the tenets of Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong, that are portrayed in some of the dance pieces.
“China was a country that was very advanced in culture, education, and had wonderful moral values,” he said.
“Based on Falun Gong, and I picked up on that, there’s truth, compassion, and tolerance. And if anybody can do those three things, you’re a pretty good person. And that’s really what Falun Gong is all about: morals and value, and remembering your culture of thousands of years ago.”
‘A Place of Hope’
Marilou McPhedran, Senator for Manitoba, attended Shen Yun for the second time on April 15. While finding the performance “equally electrifying and inspiring,” she noted differences from her previous experience seeing it in Winnipeg that brought her new inspiration.“I think it’s the symmetry and the attention to detail, the beauty, the obvious, astonishing level of health and dexterity and skill,” she said of the dancers.
“For me, that was the most astonishing performance of many amazing performances. The skill that was demonstrated on that instrument, and the strength, a very subtle strength, that came through with the artist. I was really transfixed,” she said.
“They’re both very powerful voices, tremendous capacity and tremendous skill, obviously, of many, many years of building the talent,” she said.
“I would say it was almost celestial,” she said of the soprano’s voice. “It really sounded like it carried with it power from other dimensions.”
Referring to Shen Yun’s dance stories depicting traditional Chinese belief in divinity, Ms. McPhedran emphasized their message of hope for people facing challenging times.
“I think all of these storylines about redemption and the return of a Creator, for many people, it’s a place of hope, it’s a place of inspiration, it’s a place of being encouraged to continue to face very difficult times. And for many, many, many people in the world, at this time, and many times in the past, it has been extremely difficult.”
She also highlighted the significance of preserving traditional culture in modern times.
“I would recommend Shen Yun to anyone, and would very much encourage people to come and to allow themselves to be absorbed by the beauty and the power of the performances.”
