VANCOUVER, Canada—Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge Member of Parliament Marc Dalton and his wife, Marlene, thoroughly enjoyed their first experience of Shen Yun Performing Arts on April 10 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
The performance “was better than I thought it would be, and I expected it to be good,” Mr. Dalton said happily at the end of the evening. “It was quite a variety of dances, stories—it was entertaining.”
“It made me think [about] the importance of [people] being able to express their faith and being able to practice that in society, whether it’s in Canada, whether it’s elsewhere—I think that is important.”
For 5,000 years, China’s civilization flourished under the shared belief that the divine will bless those who uphold traditional moral values. Tragically, within just a few decades of the communist party’s violent takeover, these beliefs were erased and replaced with atheism.
“That hits me as a politician, too, because I’m aware of this. I’ve spoken about it in Parliament.”
Reflecting on the company’s story, depicting the Chinese Communist Party’s violent persecution of people of faith, Mr. Dalton said: “It’s very unfortunate, because [Chinese culture] is beautiful.”
“I’ve been to China. I’ve traveled around the different cities, and it’s a beautiful place, but I am concerned about the state control of the people. We need to stand up for democracy … for people across the world.”
“It is quite beautiful,” Mr. Dalton shared. “The dances, the sounds—they’re floating in the sky and the integration with the dance and [digital backdrop] and the costumes and everything—it was great.”
This season, Shen Yun’s eight touring companies are bringing their stunning performances to over 200 cities worldwide. With a brand-new program each year, the company’s 20th anniversary marks another season full of fresh surprises for both first-time and returning audiences alike.
