Shen Yun Performing Arts graced the stages—in Hamilton and Edmonton, Canada—in April. Audience members embarked on a journey through ancient China without ever leaving their seats.
Douglas Joyner, a former mayor, said: “An enlightening show and it’s captivating and they do a very good job of telling the story. And you can see that in their artistic choreography.”
Marlane Noster, the events director and founder of WISDOM Home Schooling, said: “It was spectacular in so many ways, artistically they were excellent. But they had an aura of something more than just physically being excellent. So there was something on top of that and I think it’s the virtues that they were trying to share.”
Brian Jean, the minister of energy and minerals of the government of Alberta, said: “It’s a great show, it’s great entertainment. Lots of acrobatics and amazing costumes and looks like a lot of people put a lot of work into this. It’s a lot of fun.”
Taylor Hyatt-Cardinal, a business owner, said: “I feel like I’m right in the performance. I can see the smiling faces. Just really good energy coming from all the performers.”
Shen Yun has been touring around the world since 2006 with one goal: to revive 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture and virtues from—before communism.
“The virtues that they as individuals are trying to affect in themselves, they communicate very well in performance, because they understand them,” said Kenneth Noster, the school head and founder of WISDOM Home Schooling. “Our society is sadly lacking this kind of education, this kind of culture.”
Daniel Krisko, an army captain, said: “It’s a beautiful culture and it’s a beautiful set of traditions and everything from the costumes to the artistic fashion. Unfortunately, there’s been a loss of culture and the arts in China, so it’s very nice to see that Shen Yun is continuing with promoting such a beautiful tradition and culture.”
Audience members pointed to the company’s high artistic level—as well as the values present in its storytelling.
Marlane Noster said: “Well done, keep it up and keep sharing it because we all need this.”
“Everyone should watch it, it’s brilliant and well done. It’s a mastery of color and art and it was so nice to have a real pianist and real singers,” said Jennifer Lee, an interior designer.
Blair Peregrym, a business consultant, said: “ You can tell the dedication, you can tell a story. And you can see that the dancers put a lot of energy into creating that story so that we understand what they’re telling, and it’s quite well done.”
“Tonight has been emotional and spiritual and visual, it checked all of the boxes,” said Lia Holmes, provincial programs director and competition judge at Kitchener-Waterloo Diving Club. “The whole show was completely all encompassing of what we could ever expect the arts to give us.”
Shen Yun has an all new program every season—including new dances, music, and digital animated backdrops.
NTD News, Canada
