TORONTO—Trelawny Howell was one of thousands of patrons looking forward to seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts in Toronto earlier this year before the last six of eight scheduled shows were abruptly cancelled by the theatre due to hoax bomb threats linked to the Chinese regime.
On June 25, Ms. Howell and many others got their wish, as the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts agreed to reschedule Shen Yun for five shows this month thanks to the determined efforts of the local presenter. Opening night attracted a full house.
"I wanted to come to the opening night because it's just brilliant, it's spectacular, and I'm so glad that it was able to [return to] the Four Seasons," said Ms. Howell, who owns a real estate brokerage.
"It's phenomenal. There's nothing like it anywhere."
Shen Yun was founded in 2006 in New York by leading classical Chinese artists who made it their mission to revive China's traditional culture and portray "China before communism," as stated in the company's tagline. The show has, over the years, faced interference attempts by the Chinese regime, including acts of sabotage against the company's transport buses, pressure tactics against venues and local politicians to cancel the shows, and hoax bomb threats aimed at disrupting the company's performances.
The Four Seasons Centre received one such threat after Shen Yun began performing at the venue on March 28, and despite police confirming that the threat wasn't credible, the venue decided to cancel the company's March 29 to April 5 performances.
This was the first time a venue has ever cancelled a Shen Yun show over a fake bomb threat. Other venues, including Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre, all allowed the show to go on once police confirmed there was no threat to people's safety. In Vancouver, local police said the email account that sent the hoax bomb threat during Shen Yun's run in the city in April is linked to a phone number based in China. The same email account was used to send the hoax bomb threats to the Four Seasons Centre.
Ms. Howell said Shen Yun is doing very important work for "cultural representation worldwide," and she applauded Shen Yun's artists for continuing with their mission despite facing "persecution" overseas by the Chinese Communist Party for their efforts.
"There's nothing in the world that takes the place of what goes on here," she said. "Very brave."
Ms. Howell added that she had seen Shen Yun a few years ago and this time brought some friends with her to see the show.
"I'm so thrilled that I'm here with my friends, and that I've been able to bring them," she said.
‘Breathtaking’
Also attending the opening show was Alexander Wright, who owns a forensic accounting company. Mr. Wright said he found the show "absolutely splendid.""It's breathtaking. And there's a sense of beauty, there's a sense of movement. It's the dance and the history, the culture is amazing. We're very, very taken by it," he said.
Mr. Wright praised the dancers’ artistic ability and the choreography as well as Shen Yun's orchestra, which accompanies the dance performances with its blend of traditional Chinese instruments and classical Western instruments.
"Absolutely phenomenal. That adds to it terrifically, having the live orchestra right there in front of us," he said.
He also said he appreciated the spiritual themes and references to the divine in the performance.
"I think the element of divinity is absolutely terrific, and the fact that it started out with the heavens and sending everybody down," he said, referring to the opening scene of the show.
‘Beautiful on All Levels’
James Johnson, a theatre set designer, was also touched by the performance's spiritual aspects, saying it's something we "need more of.""I found hope in the messages, and it made me hope that more people can have this kind of spirituality, and that this kind of spirituality spreads," he said. The message he got from the show is that "we are all divine," he added, and that "where we place our priorities in life" is very important.
"The passion is what delivers the divine essence in this," he said. "These people had a destiny to be here."
As a theatre set designer, Mr. Johnson said he enjoyed Shen Yun's costumes as well as all the colours in the performance. He also praised Shen Yun's animated backdrops, which interact with the dancers on stage, saying that everything was timed with great precision.
"I loved the costuming—[it was like] marrying the movement of the fabric with the dance," he said.
"It was beautiful on all levels."
